With Our Love Comes Patience
by luclipse
Summary: (NALU) This story takes us through the progression of Natsu's and Lucy's relationship through a series of events, starting with a failed Valentine's Day. Rated T for suggested sexual content and slight swearing, though there is the possibility of a rating change in future chapters.
1. Valentine

**Ah, what to do when you should fulfilling responsibilities and haven't written a fanfiction in about four years? Well, write a NaLu fanfiction of course! And of all things about Valentine's day, even though it's way past February!**

**Let's just see how this goes then, shall we?**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, or Mashima's beautiful and creative brain._**

* * *

Natsu pushed the Guild door open in a less-than-enthusiastic manner, Happy following right behind him. Seeing that not many people had gathered in the main hall yet, Natsu turned to his blue friend.

"What do you want to do first, Happy?"

The Exceed answered in a heartbeat. "Lets go to the bar and get some fish! Maybe we can take some of Mira's chocolate too!"

Natsu felt an uncomfortable sensation at the thought of food, but he couldn't resist the temptation of Mirajane's heavenly Valentine's Day chocolate. "Yeah, we've got to do better than last time." He said.

They shuddered at the recollection. The last Valentine's Day that came around, the two woke up early enough to sneak into the Guild with the objective of tasting Mira's chocolate before anyone else. Little did they know about the traps set up against eager thieves and the beating they would receive by the Takover mage herself when they were caught.

"Look, the chocolates are at the bar!" Happy whispered excitedly. Surely enough, there was a silver platter piled high with an assortment of white, milk and dark chocolates, and Mirajane was nowhere to be seen.

With a mischievous glint in their eyes they closed in on their target. It almost seemed _too_ easy. Ducking right underneath the platter, they each reached a hand up to take a handful of edible gold, when suddenly something caught their wrists in an iron grip.

"Ack!" They both yelled in unison.

"Boys, what are you doing?" A sickeningly sweet voice asked.

Now, Natsu Dragneel can count how many times he's been scared on his fingers. There's hardly anything that can really get a jump on the guy. This time though, the Fire Dragon Slayer was, ironically, frozen in pure terror. Now they were in for it!

"M-m-m-m-mirajane!" They stuttered.

"Were you two trying to take chocolate out of turn again like last time? Do we need repeat the punishment then?" Although she was smiling like a perfect saint, the normally innocent looking woman had a dark aura billowing around her.

"N-n-no Mira, we didn't mean it, honest!" Said Natsu.

"We promise we won't take anything!" Whined Happy, tears brimming in his eyes as he spoke.

"Good! I'll let you two off easy this time because it's Valentine's Day, but I hope you've finally learned your lessons." She chastised in a light tone. Her dark aura slowly began to dissipate.

"Yes, Mira." They mumbled and lifted themselves off the ground.

"Now, why don't you boys order something?" Mira could hear the grumbling from Happy's tummy. "It seems like the both of you are hungry."

"I'll have a fish." Happy said, as expected.

"Of course." Mira closed her eyes and smiled at the little Exceed before turning her gaze to Natsu. "And for you?"

"Nah, I think I'll pass."

Wait. Did she just hear that correctly? "Are you sure, Natsu?" Mira asked, her eyes wide in wonder. "You always have a big breakfast around this time of day."

Natsu propped his elbows on the counter, put his head in his hands and groaned. "Yeah, I'm sure."

Alright, now Mirajane _knew_ something was up!

"Natsu says he hasn't been feeling too good since this morning." Happy explained.

Aha, so _that's_ what it was. After closer inspection of the fire mage, Mira confirmed that he did look a bit green around the gills.

"It must have been the eggs we cooked up yesterday, Happy." Natsu moaned. The other day he and Happy returned late and desperately hungry from a quick solo mission. Since all the eateries, including the Guild's, had closed up by the time they reach Magnolia, they had to find something in their own house to eat. After not using their kitchen for so long, it probably would have been a good idea in retrospect to check whether their food had expired or not.

Mira pityingly stared at the pink-headed boy – or man, she should say, he wasn't a child anymore – and asked, "Why didn't you just stay home today?"

Natsu looked at her incredulously. Who _doesn't_ come to the Guild on Valentine's Day?

Reding Natsu's expression, Mira soothingly continued, "I know today is Valentine's Day, but maybe it would be better if you just stayed in bed today and rested."

Sighing, Natsu frowned and buried his face deeper into his hands. He couldn't just go home. Fairy Tail collecting for Valentine's Day was a tradition, a ritual to live by, an unbreakable rule. It was just something they all did without question for as long as he could remember.

"What's the matter flame-head, Valentine's blues caught a hold of you?"

Natsu turned towards the source of the voice, though he already knew whom it belonged to. "What do _you_ want, ice-princess?"

Gray walked up to the bar and sat on the stool next to the queasy fire mage. "You look pretty," Gray smirked, indicating at Natsu's increasingly green face. "It's nice to see you finally dressed up for once. Who knows? Maybe this is the year you'll get laid."

Natsu huffed, "Says the virgin."

Gray bristled at the comment. "Look who's talking?"

"Boys-" Mirajane tried to interrupt.

"Yeah, well at least I won't have a stalker this year 'round!"

Oh. That did it. Natsu knew he had breached a sensitive topic but he felt too nauseous to care.

"Low blow, slanty-eyes, low blow." Gray growled menacingly. "At least I have an admirer!"

"Who says I don't have an admirer?"

"Who the hell would like _you_, you idiot? Even if you did get one, you're so dense cupid would have to take a shit on your head for you to see it!"

"That's it! You wanna go, droopy-eyes?"

"You're on ash-for-brains!"

Gray had already stripped off his shirt and Natsu summoned his fire when an ungodly sound was heard. It came from Natsu's stomach.

The poor mage doubled over in pain as he felt the sudden urge to vomit. Yeah, checking the expiration date would definitely have been a good idea.

"Mira, I think I'll take Natsu home." Happy said, concern evident in his voice.

"That's a good idea, Happy." Mira agreed.

"No. I'm… _Fine_." Natsu hissed through grit teeth.

"Natsu."

"_What?_" He snapped. Looking up, the Dragon Slayer for once in his life regretted his short temper.

Mirajane's devilish aura was back, and something gave Natsu the feeling she wasn't in a forgiving mood anymore. Even Gray took the time to pick up his shirt and pretend he wasn't just about to punch the pink-haired idiot's lights out. "I really think it would be a good idea for you to go home, Natsu-kun." Said Mirajane, innocently as an angel.

"A-aye." Muttered Natsu.

"Come on Natsu, lets go." Happy summoned his flying magic and helped support Natsu as he half crawled to the entrance of the building like a hungover alcoholic.

"Such a shame he couldn't stay, wouldn't you agree, Gray?" Mira turned to the ice mage. He wouldn't escape her so easily either.

"Y-yeah. A shame, that." Gray looked away as he said it.

Mirajane sighed inwardly. She was so hoping to see whether something would happen between Natsu and Lucy this year. She had even prepared a special Valentine's Day event for the Guild with them in mind. It was obvious that Natsu held a special partiality towards Lucy, and Lucy had grown somewhat softer and more accustomed to dealing with the hot-headed dragon slayer, but maybe that was because they formed such an interesting team. Though after watching the two interact so tenderly before future Rogue's attack in the castle, Mira was sure they must feel something for each other, they just needed that extra push to see it.

Well, maybe she wasn't _entirely_ sure. Gray was right when he said Natsu was dense as a concrete slab, to put it nicely, and she didn't know whether Lucy had it in her to initiate a relationship like that. It could all just be wishful thinking, but the white-haired mage preferred to image something was indeed there, and that maybe one day she would hear the pitter-patter of a pink-haired toddler with chocolate-brown eyes exploring the Guild in wonder.

* * *

Light filtered in through a crack in the curtains, clear and bright. The sounds of birds returning to Fiore, after escaping winter's worst in the south, filled the air and echoed through the room in a reminiscent way. For once, the house was quiet and empty, except for a certain blonde mage that stirred in her sleep. Twisting and turning under the covers until the brightness became agonizing and the chirping turned to shrills in her ears, Lucy Heartfilia realized that her pitiful few hours of sleep were over, and a new day had begun.

In truth, the new day had technically started when she exhaustedly climbed into bed at three in the morning, but those thoughts wouldn't help her now. After all, it was Valentine's Day, and like hell she was going to waste it after slaving away in preparation! She left the warmth of her blanket to hop in the shower, where she made the extra effort to lather until she was sure she'd smell like fresh strawberries all day, then dried and fixed her hair so it fell freely down her back. Next she tried covering the dark circles under her eyes with a bit of make-up, but soon found her efforts were completely futile. Now that Lucy looked closer, she could see the tired lines that marked her face and the dried drool she missed while scrubbing herself in the shower.

"I guess that's why it's called 'beauty sleep', huh?" She commented sheepishly to no one in particular. Moving to her modest wardrobe, she decided on a simple white and pink outfit.

"Yosh, let's start Valentine's Day off with a smile!" Lucy stated while she struck a victory pose at the mirror. Making her way over to the kitchen though, she remembered why she went to bed so late last night, and in such a crappy mood.

The place was a _mess_! The smell of burnt chocolate still lingered in the air, blackish brown goop was dried in places she didn't even know were physically possible to reach and, worst of all, multitudes of chocolate moulds were dumped in the sink in a pile so large, Lucy would rather burn them at this point than clean them all! (Oh, all the poor, poor Jewels she spent to buy them!)

Still not quite awake from her lack of sleep, the blonde couldn't remember for the life of her what had happened the night before. And then it all came flooding back.

She came home the other day with the intent of making her closest male nakama at least five pieces of chocolate each for this one special day. She wanted to make some for Natsu, Gray, Loke, Elfman, Master and Gajeel at the very least, though she bought a bit extra just in case she had time for more. At the height of her optimism, she vowed that she would make all of them herself with nothing but a cookbook she found in a second-hand shop. No use of Mirajane's experience, no calling for Virgo, no asking for a different recipe from Levy-chan if things all went wrong (Lucy was sure the petite woman had a couple on hand considering the number of books she owned).

Why would the Celestial Spirit mage want to do something like that you ask? Well, she never really got the chance to properly thank the Guild for all the kindness they gave her. They not only saved her from dangerous enemies on multiple occasions, but they were her nakama, her family. They believed in who she was, in her strengths and in her bonds with her Guildmates. The mages in Fairy Tail didn't care about her past, they only cared about the present because it meant they could spend time with her, and cared about her future because they waned her as a part of their lives indefinitely. They proved that many times over. Despite Lucy's constant doubts and inner turmoil, she believed in their words wholeheartedly because she knew that Fairy Tail was the only place she belonged.

Hence, Lucy made a vow to do her very best for them on Valentine's Day, one of the rare holidays the boys didn't really feel like going on a mission was worth it. Strange as it was, she noticed this the year she joined Fairy Tail. Hell, even Natsu, the man as thick romantically as the sea was deep, would forgo his usually mission demanding schedule to stay in the Guild all day. Whether it was some sort of ancient Fairy ritual or just habit, Lucy found that she picked up the odd behavior very quickly, considering she made chocolate (if you could call it that) instead of packing for her next rent-paying mission this year.

_How hard could it be to make a couple of batches of chocolate?_ She thought the day before. _It'll be a piece of cake!_

After preparing all the ingredients at noon, she toiled and worked herself till she almost fainted and collapsed on the floor, before finally giving up at three in the morning. In the end, she only made enough to satisfy seven people if she gave them one piece of chocolate each, since all the rest either tasted like a bird shat on them or were burnt beyond recognition. However, now as she tiptoed her way around the kitchen, she decided to put three pieces of chocolate in three small boxes she found lying around somewhere instead, and tied each with a bow. The remaining piece she popped in her mouth to check the taste, and was surprised to find it tasted quite okay.

_That makes for Gray, Loki and Master. Gray I'll have to be careful with because… Well, if Juvia sees me give them to him I'm not sure how much longer I'd have left to live…_ Lucy shuddered at the very plausible thought of Juvia crushing her where she stood, or vengefully stabbing her to death as she slept peacefully that evening. Hey, if the Dragon Slayers could barge into her home willy-nilly then what would stop her from coming in with murderous intents? _I'll have to buy some chocolates for the rest of the Celestial Spirits on my way back, as sad as it is, and I'm sure Master will enjoy a surprise._ She packed each box carefully into a cloth bag and set it down on the floor.

There was only one job left to do.

Lucy opened the fridge and fumbled through its contents until she found what she was looking for. Placed carefully on a piece of aluminum foil was an intricate dark chocolate dragon, roughly the size of her palm, with it's mouth open in a nasty snarl and claws raised as if ready to attack. As she picked it up gently she felt immense pride swell within her. The Celestial mage happened to pass by an antique store early the previous morning and spied a dragon mould that she was sure a certain flame-head might like. It was the first piece of chocolate she made yesterday, the only piece she was sure actually tasted like real chocolate.

The details on the chocolate itself were marvelous! Large scales covered most of its body and tail but it had none on its face. Instead, there was a hollowed out bit for an eye encased in serious features, glaring at the beholder as if taunting them to just take a bite, if they dared. It was the most beautiful piece of chocolate she had ever seen, and she had made it all by herself.

_That Natsu…_ She closed her tired eyes. _All the trouble I go through with him! Just last week he snuck into my bed again and wouldn't leave, and now I've made him this._ Even still, Lucy looked once more at the dragon in her open hand. Smiling to herself, she found the last small box she owned and laid the little dragon inside it. She made sure to pad the box a little on the bottom so the chocolate wouldn't move around so much.

She placed the box inside the cloth bag with the rest of her failed excuse of a Valentine's Day surprise and sighed dejectedly again. Rubbing her puffy eyes, she made her way to the door without glancing back at the kitchen.

"Looks like I'll just grab some breakfast on the way to the Guild then…"

As Lucy approached the Fairy Tail base, she could already hear a mass of people inside laughing, shouting and generally cavorting about, meaning the entire Guild was there as she expected. However, what she didn't expect was what she would see inside.

The guild really outdid themselves this year. Streamers and banners in various shades of red, pink and purple lined the walls. The tablecloths set out were pure white with little heart imprints and topped with red candles of different shapes and sizes. The stage was set up, a banner reading _"Happy Valentine's Day Fairy Tail!"_ hanging above the curtains. Overall, the mood in the building had changed overnight from being jovially childish to… Pretty romantic in a quaint sort of way.

Lucy couldn't believe it.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Mirajane approaching her with a tray of delicious looking chocolate.

"Good morning, Lucy." The white-haired mage greeted pleasantly. "Care for some chocolate?"

"Good morning, Mira-san, and yes please!" Lucy beamed with delight. She took a white chocolate praline with a hazelnut on top and took a hungry bite. Immediately she could feel the sweetness of the white chocolate reach equilibrium with the bitterness of the hazelnut. It was safe to say that Lucy had reached a state of nirvana.

_How did Mira manage all of this when I could barely make seven simple pieces of chocolate?_ Lucy whined internally.

"Did you do all this yourself, Mira-san?" The Spirit mage asked, indicating at the decorations around the room.

"Well, not all of it." Mira said. "I asked a few of the boys to help me this morning. It was so sweet of them!" She closed her eyes and smiled her usual smile. What Lucy didn't know was what Mira classified as _asking_ was really _threaten them with her stare until they said yes._

Lucy looked around the room again, this time focusing on the people there. She picked out Master at the bar drinking a pint of beer with Cana, who was drinking a barrel of red wine herself. Over to the right she could see Gray drinking a glass of whisky with a blush on his face while simultaneously trying to ignore the fact Juvia was cozying up to his free arm. Lately Gray was letting Juvia become closer to him, at least physically, after a certain scarf incident Lucy technically wasn't supposed to know about. (Hey, rumors in Fairy Tail spread like wildfire, alright?) On cold days like this, Gray would wear Juvia's scarf, which not only made Juvia happy, but Lucy happy for her nakama as well.

Gajeel and Levy, on the other hand, were sitting across from a very irritated looking Jet and Droy in the center of the room. The petite girl was attacking Gajeel, rather adorably if you consider their difference in strength, to get back a book he was holding above his head. With every futile effort, the Dragon Slayer's smirk grew wider. Lucy didn't know whether to feel sorry for her poor friend for all of Gajeels antics, or happy that he seemed to genuinely want Levy's attention.

There was Elfman and Evergreen bickering, Erza silently indulging in strawberry flavored chocolate, Wendy playing with Carla and Romeo, the rest of the Raijinshuu enjoying Laxus' rare company, Macao and Wakabe discussing women…

Normally, if a single woman were surrounded by all these lovey-dovey sights on Valentine's Day, or at least lovey-dovey for Fairy Tail, they would begin to feel rather lonely. Oh, the agonizing pain of not having a special someone on the universal day of love! What woe! Lucy, on the other hand, was feeling lonely for a different reason entirely. She felt emptiness because everyone in the guild was here, but there was still one person missing from the party. A person and an Exceed actually. There was no mass of wild pink hair making a fool of himself on one of the tables, no certain someone happily munching away at a grilled fish, no random fighting breaking out that had Gray involved in it. Hell, nothing was on fire, Erza was eating in peace and the overall noise in the guild was slightly lower than usual.

Though it might not seems like something to complain about, it set alarm bells in Lucy's mind because, to her, all of these little details begged only one question: _where were Natsu and Happy?_

Lucy asked Mira as much. Mirajane answered with a knowing smile on her face. How did she just know Lucy would ask that? "I haven't seen Natsu since earlier this morning. Last time I saw him he was heading out the door in a hurry."

Technically Mira wasn't lying, she just wasn't telling the whole truth either, reason being she wanted to see how Lucy would respond.

"Oh, I see. Was there anything the matter?"

"Mm, not sure, I couldn't really tell." Alright, now she was stretching the truth a bit.

Lucy couldn't fathom it. Why would Natsu miss out on today of all days without a reason? "That's so strange…" She said in a low voice.

When the blonde mage looked at Mira again, she had a strange smile on her face. It conveyed such mixed emotions it was confusing just looking at her. "Mira-san, is there something the matter?" Lucy asked.

"Ah, it's nothing!" Mirajane waved her free hand in front of her face, which was pretty impressive considering the other arm held a heavy tray of chocolate. To be honest, Mira felt like squealing internally, shoving Lucy out the door and punching something at the same time. This was her chance to give that little extra push! Sure, Natsu might be a vomiting mess when Lucy got there, but the thought of the Celestial Spirit mage nursing her poor, handsome partner back to health, comforting him in the walls of his own home like a perfect housewife, was overriding her imagination.

"Are you sure Mira? You've been acting strange too-"

"Maybe it would be a good idea to check up on Natsu? It is strange how he's not here."

"Oh. Well, first I wanted to-"

Mira didn't wait for Lucy to finish. "Say hello to him for me!" The mage known as the Demon started forcing Lucy to the door.

"But I-"

"Why not buy him something to eat on the way there?" At this point Mira was dragging Lucy to the entrance.

"Mira! I-"

"Some soup might be nice at this time of the day." They were at the door. With a good shove, Lucy had successfully exited the building. "Be sure to visit again later!"

Standing in the dazzling morning sunlight, Lucy was entirely at a loss once again.

Lucy's figure crumpled a little. "Aah, what did I do to deserve this?" She moaned. _I just wanted to do something nice for once and I get shoved out without even a goodbye! _She thought dejectedly. As if this day could get any worse. With a confounded expression, Lucy went back in the direction she came from. There was absolutely no saying no to Mira, so why bother? "May as well drop the chocolates off at home then. All that hard work gone to waste!"

It was now around noon as Lucy shuffled exhaustedly by the canal near her home. Plue was only a few short steps behind her. She had stopped by the market, which was conveniently close to Gray's apartment, for some groceries, when she spied Gray and Juvia taking a stroll. Whether the two had the intention of going to Gray's modest abode together or Gray was just looking for a moment's reprieve from the water mage, Lucy didn't know, but she sure as hell wasn't going to interrupt (out of concern for her own safety). That shot down her plans of at least delivering one of her chocolate boxes, even if she did just want to leave it at his door with a note of explanation.

_I'll have to ask Juvia about their little outing later though._ She thought mischievously with a smirk.

As Lucy approached her front door, she sighed. "Aw, what a tiring ordeal!"

"Pun puun!" Said her blue, not-quite-dog-like companion. At least she had the good sense this time to call him out, if only to have someone to complain to on her lonely walk from the Guild.

The blonde's stomach gurgled with an intensity to match Natsu's. Embarrassed, she muttered, "Now that I think about it Plue, I haven't even had breakfast yet. I was kicked out after just having one stinking piece of chocolate." Actually, she shouldn't say that. She was surprised by how long Mira's chocolate had kept her hunger at bay.

"So, first things first, store the chocolates upstairs." She unlocked the entrance of the house, took off her shoes and put on her slippers.

"Puun."

"Then make something to eat." If my kitchen even works anymore. Lucy started trudging her way up the stairs.

"Puun, pun puuun!"

"You're right, I may as well make leftovers for him. He is part of the reason I got kicked out today, I guess. I can never be too sure about anything anymore." She opened the door to her apartment.

"Then to clean and finally visit- _NATSU?_" The Celestial mage shrieked the last word.

And what a sight he was…

"Yo – uurp – Lucy. Hand me the trash can, will you?"

The named fire mage was sprawled out on Lucy's bed shirtless, glistening with sweat and not to mention colored the deepest shade of green Lucy had ever seen on a human face. Happy was standing over him, fanning a cooling breeze with, no, not his wings which would have been much more efficient, but with the rough draft of Lucy's most recent novel stapled together to form a large fan.

"**What the hell are you two doing in my house **_**again**_**? And are those **_**my**_** papers you're using?**" Lucy at this point had just about had enough. She was tired beyond belief, hungry enough to devour her own burnt chocolates and sick of running into problems she didn't want to deal with. She was about to throw the nearest object to her, conveniently her trash can, when Happy flew over and held her upraised hands to his body.

"Please don't throw it, Lucy!" He shouted.

Lucy was taken aback by Happy's uncharacteristic request, enough to lower the trash can from over her head and hug the little Exceed with one arm. "Happy..."

Suddenly, Happy raised his head and gave her a creepy look, "If you do it he'll throw up on your floor again."

_"What do you mean __**again**__, you stupid cat?"_ She shrieked, throwing Happy across the room as she did.

"Hey, Lucy, I'm going to need that trash can right about now-"

"And _you_! What are _you_ doing _here_? Why aren't you at home or at the Guild's nursery?" Lucy pointed an accusing finger at the Dragon Slayer.

Natsu looked increasingly desperate, "But the trash can-"

"Like hell you're going to ruin it with your sickly-"

"The floor, Lucy, the floor." Happy reminded her.

_"Ugh, why today?"_ Lucy moaned in defeat. She placed the little object at the edge of her bed, and just in time too. As soon as the thing was in reach, Natsu grabbed it, shot up, and emptied his stomach.

Lucy backed away in disgust. "Why couldn't you just do this at your own house?" She demanded.

"We tried to get there from the Guild this morning but Natsu said he couldn't make it."

Looking at the pink-haired mess, she could imagine. Nothing could stop Natsu like his stomach. Whether he was hungry or sick it was really the only thing besides life-threatening injury and motion sickness that could weaken the guy for longer than a couple of hours.

Now that Lucy had calmed down some, she sighed for the umpteenth time that day. "So you say he's been like this since this morning?"

"Aye..."

After hearing Natsu's retching intensify she asked incredulously, "How does he still have that much to vomit?"

"Well, we thought it would be a good idea to feed him something from your fridge about 5 minutes ago-"

Lucy grabbed Happy by the scruff of his neck, "_How_ in the _Spirit King's_ name did you think it would be a _good idea_ to feed a sick person with _raw food from my fridge_?"

"Oi, Natsu, Lucy's being scary!"

Natsu could neither see nor hear Happy, for he was concentrating on completing his own urgent business.

"You guys will be the end of me, I swear!"

"Did you hear that Natsu-"

"For Pete's sake, _HE CAN'T HEAR YOU-_"

"_Oi!_"

Both Lucy and Happy turned to face the direction of the voice. Natsu was peeking over the brim of the trash can, evidently exhausted, and glaring at the both of them.

"I need something else to throw up in-"

"_BOTH OF YOU GO TO HELL!_"

* * *

Lucy wiped the sweat from her brow. This had been one tiring day.

Since the initial shock of having a sick Natsu and thoroughly annoying Happy in her home, she had been on her feet for whatever reason to nurse the flame-idiot back to health. For the most part, she reasoned it was because the sooner he got better the sooner the both of them would leave.

She had made a large pot of soup for Natsu to gradually eat throughout the day, with Happy's help, had cleaned the sticky bits of forgotten vomit on her floor and emptied her trash can countless times, before finally throwing it away once Natsu urges to be sick had lessened dramatically.

Now, there he was. The man that once again caused her a good ton and a half of trouble was sound asleep under the covers of her bed, with Happy snoozing at his feet. Considering Natsu was sleeping spread eagle style, Lucy decided she'd sleep on the couch rather than wake him. That and she didn't want to be in the way in case Natsu needed to make a beeline for the bathroom.

Finally realizing that her work for the day was done, Lucy retreated into the bathroom to prepare herself for another night of little sleep. Before making up the couch, she checked to make sure her door was locked (oh, who was she kidding anymore anyway, it's not like it kept anyone out). Upon arrival, she glanced at the little cloth bag where she had placed her Valentine's day chocolate.

That was when the events from the day caught up with , sadness and hopelessness all bubbled to the surface at once. She had missed another chance to really express her gratitude. It wasn't her fault though, was it? Mirajane was the one that forced her into this mess to begin with, and Natsu was no help either!...

No, in the end she tried her best but it seems like that in itself wasn't good enough. Wasn't that the way things always were though? She would try to help her nakama but in the end they would always be the ones saving her instead.

Maybe she really was that useless after all...

Her eyes drooped sadly as she carefully removed each box from the bag. She figured she may as well throw them all away since Valentine's Day had come and gone. Lucy then remembered that she didn't even have a trash can anymore, causing her to yield further to the self doubt that was always nagging at her in the corner of her consciousness.

However, there was something that kept grabbing at her attention, something instinctive that took over her exhausted mind. It was the box that held the chocolate dragon. Her chocolate dragon. The chocolate she had made first, with the most care and the most thought. It was beckoning her to open the cage it had been confined to.

Lucy slipped the ribbon off the box, then opened the lid. Carefully, gently, she scooped the dragon up into her cupped hand. Dropping the box, as well as the other Valentine's boxes in her arms, she stared at the glorious little thing.

Lucy had to smile.

Of course. Why was she thinking such things? Why was she having such doubts?

She shook her head, her golden tresses swaying to and fro.

No, it wasn't right for her to think that way at all!

Almost unconsciously, her feet dragged her towards her bed.

Fairy Tail was her life, her happiness. So long as she fought by her friends to protect it there was no way she was being useless.

Tiredly, Lucy sank to her knees at the edge of her bed.

So what if she couldn't express her feelings today? She would just do it tomorrow.

She closed both hands around the dragon and placed her arms flat on the bed.

In fact, she would do so every day from now on. Why not? That's how much everyone really meant to her.

Lucy leaned her head on her outstretched arms and sighed, not in irritation, but in contentment.

Master and Erza, Gray and Juvia, Cana and Wendy, Mira and Levy, Lisanna and Elfman, Happy and Loki, and...

"_Natsu._"

And with that, she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Natsu woke up with a start. He clutched his stomach, expecting there to be nausea and pain, but there was nothing. Confused, then, as to the reason why he woke up in such alarm, he waited for his keen eyes to adjust to the darkness.

Not sensing any immediate danger, he was about to go back to sleep when a golden head of hair caught his eye.

Lucy had fallen asleep on the edge of her bed, and in a rather odd position at that. She had her arms thrust out in front of her, her hands loosely clutching something, as if she expected him to take whatever it was. She rested the side of her face on her left arm, her face the picture of serenity.

Normally, the Dragon Slayer would turn right around and go back asleep assuming Lucy had just fallen off the bed in some strange way, being the childish person he was. It was her loss if she couldn't control the way she slept.

Though this time it was different.

Natsu felt genuinely guilty. The more he stared the more it looked as if she feel asleep that way, probably because he hogged all of the space on the bed. She was most likely too tired to even set up the couch, considering all the work she's done to take care of him that day. Lucy even looked tired when she entered her apartment that afternoon, he could tell immediately by the bags under her eyes, but she took care of his sick behind anyway.

"Lucy. Hey, Lucy." He whispered.

There was no response.

Bending over a little closer, Natsu said a little louder, "Lucy, can you hear me?"

This time, there was a shifting as Lucy opened her hands to reveal a brown blob resting on her palms, yet still she didn't wake.

Curious, Natsu picked up whatever it was from her hands and tried to make out what it was. From the smell of it, he could just barely tell it was chocolate (Lucy's scent was getting in the way). In the darkness of the early winter morning, he could make out something that looked like a tail... Maybe claws? A mouth and a face. Some scales... Was this supposed to be...

A _dragon_?

It was difficult to tell from the overall shape, since Lucy's hands probably melted the edges and most of the details, but as he looked closer he could see the angry eyes, the snarling mouth and large scales of a little chocolate dragon.

"Who did she make this for?" He wondered aloud.

As if to answer him, Lucy shifted her head to her other arm and started murmuring something. Leaning closer, Natsu heard something along the lines of _Detective Plue, what an easy case - mumble, mumble -._

Natsu cracked a small smile. Even in her sleep she was a total weirdo. Sleep-talking Lucy made a good point though. If he just put his mind to it he could probably figure it out on his own, so Natsu put his mind to work. The only people he could think Lucy would make a dragon chocolate for would be himself, Gajeel, Wendy or Laxus. Lucy hardly communicated with Gajeel or Laxus, which left Wendy. Considering yesterday was Valentine's Day though, it would be weird if Lucy just made a chocolate for her, meaning the only person left would be...

_Me._ Thought Natsu.

Staring down at the piece of chocolate, now melted down to about half the size of his palm from his body heat, he didn't know what to feel.

To think that Lucy, his partner and best friend, would make him something like this. He guessed the chocolate was hand made, judging by the smell of it, meaning it wasn't just some store bought good. Lucy had actually put in the time and effort to make him something, and in the shape of one of his most favorite things in the world. A dragon, like his magic, his fiery personality and his father...

Natsu took a tentative bite of the little thing, unsure whether he would just spit it back up right away. Surprisingly, for all the disfiguration it went through, the chocolate tasted alright. The fire mage kicked off the covers, ready to sprint to the bathroom in case his sickness still wasn't completely gone, but after sitting around in the dark for about five minutes nothing seemed to happen. Sighing thankfully, Natsu gobbled up the rest of the chocolate within seconds.

His attention wandered back to the Celestial mage fast asleep on the edge of her own bed. He seriously needed to fix this, otherwise the nagging feeling of guilt would never go away.

So Natsu Dragneel did a very un-Natsu-like thing.

He gently scooped up Lucy into his arms, almost like a knight would his princess, and placed her down into the bed next to him. He covered her up to her nose with the covers and sank down next to her.

Of course he had done the same thing with her many times before. As in, slept in the same bed with her. In fact, it was during these nights that he would sleep most comfortably and most deeply. Although, as mentioned before, tonight was a very special night, because as Natsu had lifted Lucy into his arms, he realized that the poor girl was very, very cold.

This in turn made him feel even worse. He had unintentionally forced his partner to half sleep on the floor, without any way to warm herself on a cold winter's night, while he snoozed away in her bed under the blankets. So what Natsu wanted to do was warm her up, and what he did was simple. He wrapped his arms around Lucy, one arm around her waist and one arm behind her neck, just as he had done only once before in his life.

At first, it didn't seem all that bad. He could gradually feel the heat flowing back into her as heat radiated from his bare chest into her own curvaceous body.

Aha, but you see, that's when it happened.

Lucy started to stir in her sleep, and not in the most innocent of ways. Unconsciously, Lucy was thoroughly enjoying this new warmth that seemed to appear out of nowhere, so she wanted to get closer to it like a moth would try to fly closer to a flame. Naturally, this meant she started to wiggle. It began with her shoulders, then kept moving downwards, and downwards, and downwards... until eventually the wiggling reached her hips.

That, my dear readers, is when Natsu Dragneel, for the first time in his life, felt a bit of stirring of his own. Imagine this:

A boy holding a girl in his arms. The boy is shirtless, while the girl wears a thin PJ, and quite a revealing one actually. The girl begins rubbing her voluptuous upper half along the boy's chest. Now how should the young man respond, or rather, how should his body respond. Even a man with a very dense mind can have an aching body, whether he realizes it or not.

Then, as the rubbing reaches lower, and lower, it finally reaches the boy's manhood, a very sensitive place indeed.

"Lucy, hold still or I can't- ack!" Natsu's eyes almost bulged out of his head. "L-l-l-lucy, s-s-_stop_!"

The sensation of Lucy's body being rubbed against his in such a way... Well, he's never quite felt anything like that before. It started as a tickle, the fabric of Lucy's soft PJs rubbing against his naked skin. It made him want to shove her away before he burst out laughing. But then the rubbing intensified, and the rusted wheels in his head stared to turn. His arm around Lucy's waist began to move with her incessant movements, shifting his hand closer and closer to her supple ass. The wheels in his head clicked into place, finally after his 18 years of life, when Lucy's curvaceous hips rocked against his- Well, the thing Master told him about all those years ago with the birds and the bees...

He didn't like it.

Don't get him wrong. It wasn't because it didn't feel good. Oh, it was actually starting to get nice and toasty down in some places. For a good while, Natsu himself had realized that he was becoming genuinely more curious in the other gender, at least physically since he otherwise had strong relations with his female nakama. Sure, the occasional accidental peak here and there was embarrassing on both parts. He was only human after all. Though there is one person he found more interesting than the rest, and that would be the woman sleeping in his arms.

It was strange, but normally his natural reaction to a naked woman, especially a nakama, would be to force down a blush and turn away, as there was no reason to stare if it would only cause him a thorough beating. He wasn't perverted enough to take the pain and abuse just for a blurred glance at an exposed body part, unlike some of the other men in the Guild. Well, perhaps not _all_ the time (there was that one incident at the baths that we should not delve into).

With Lucy on the other hand, he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something more... _Familiar_ about her body. It may just be the fact he'd seen her naked figure so many times he'd lost count, or that Lucy was so good of a friend that a little shared skin contact isn't really anything special. But no, neither of those theories fit, and for the life of him the Dragon Slayer couldn't figure out why, though he never really gave it much thought before. Whatever this was, all he knew was that he was comfortable with Lucy, both as the weird person she was _and_ with her body, enough to feel her, touch her, even kiss her without a problem if a certain persistent little girl asked for it...

That aside, Natsu in his current situation had the intense feeling (damn him and his feelings) that Lucy should be, how should he put it? Awake, if she was going to be doing something like this?

He wasn't stupid. Natsu knew how these things went. A boy and a girl run to a cabbage patch - skip the erotic descriptions given by Master that have probably scared Natsu for this long - and you've got an evening of fun. However, in the story the boy and girl were both running to the cabbage patch together. They were both having fun at the same time. Now it just seemed like Natsu was getting a free harvest while Lucy was being left in the dirt.

It just didn't _feel _right. Not right now at least.

So in an attempt to stop Lucy from fidgeting, Natsu pulled her as close to him as he could without cutting off any of her circulation. If he could just immobilize her with force, they could both go back to sleeping in peace. This only earned him a hoarse mewl in reply, then a shift in position as Lucy settled her head in a more comfortable position against his broad chest, angling herself so that the side of her lips rested gently on his collarbone. The wiggling didn't stop though. She still desperately needed something from him, it seemed.

"Cut it out already, Lucy!" He almost yelled in frustration, then cursed himself for being so loud. It was an amazement that even _Happy_ was still fast asleep at the foot of the bed after all this ruckus. Anyway, he knew that if Lucy woke up now, she would only overreact as she always did in situations like this, and a Lucy-kick in the stomach was the last thing he needed at the moment. On a side note, Natsu wondered why Lucy was never comfortable with him being physically close to her. Her "no-touchy" attitude had progressively gotten better over time, but he really couldn't understand why this women needed that much personal space to begin with!

Lucy gave a particularly rough thrust of her hips, both to subconsciously express she was fed up with Natsu's death grip and that her mind was slowly coming to. The blow hit Natsu right in the groin. Expecting the intolerable pain of a purposeful nut-kick by Erza, the pressure of Lucy's body on his sent, oddly enough, a desirable feeling coursing through him. Natsu's eyes bulged in confused horror as he felt his pelvic area slightly tighten, sending a stream of hot blood from his stomach towards his chest, as well as to his area down below.

The dragon slayer was ready to burn the house down. _This shouldn't be happening! Dammit, I don't get it!_ He thought in panic. _Lucy is nakama! Is this the thing about the birds and the knees or whatever it was Master was talking about?!_

And then it all stopped. The only part of Lucy moving was her head, as she started rubbing her cheek onto his warming chest. But what came out of her mouth next shocked Natsu more than anything else did this entire night. The sleeping mage let out a moan of such raw wanting, such pure desire, that it sent a shiver down his spine. Who knew Lucy was capable of such a sound?

When his initial bewilderment dissipated, Natsu wondered if he could have Lucy make the sound again. _And again and again and again..._ Echoed a small part of his mind. Thinking that maybe his increased body temperature spurred her sudden behavior, he willed his magic to turn the heat up a notch, except this time in the arm underneath Lucy's neck. Once more, Lucy cuddled further into the crook of his arm while sonorously expressing her delight.

Thoroughly amused now, Natsu heated his other arm, then his stomach, his neck and his legs. He watched as slowly she relaxed in his grip and breathed a heavy sigh of sheer bliss. So all she needed was heat! The stupid thoughts circling his brain before had completely vacated his mind, replaced instead by the sound of Lucy's breathing and the scent of strawberries, until eventually he could feel himself drifting off back into a deep and comfortable sleep.

* * *

Natsu woke up in the morning as the creeping light of dawn filled the room. It was early, but not too early, and best of all the dragon slayer felt re-energized, like he could take on the world. That might not seem any different than his usual morning mood, though today his head felt clear and his stomach was fully recovered.

Kicking off the covers, he grabbed his shirt lying across the bed's headboard and put it on. While he did so, he noted absentmindedly that Lucy had drifted away from him at some point during the night and was now lying on her stomach. As silently as he could, Natsu woke Happy and told him they were leaving.

"But Natsu," the Exceed whined, "we haven't had breakfast yet! I saw Lucy had some fish in the fridge for me!"

"Yeah, but who wants that when you can have Mira's cooking at the guild this early?"

And that was all it took to get Happy on his feet. "I hope she makes salmon today!" The curtains were pulled back from the windows.

"Speak for yourself! I want bacon, and lots of it!" With that Natsu shut the window behind him and the pair was off.

* * *

**For future reference, whenever I mention something in the A/N about picking a first chapter, it's because originally I had two versions of the first chapter that I couldn't choose between, so I left it up to the readers to choose which they preferred, which happens to be the one you've currently read. Sorry for any confusion!**

**Other notes:**

**1\. I've gotten into fanfiction again after all these years, meaning I will make more chapters of this fic. I have a general outline of what events will happen, but I don't think I'll be interconnecting events all that much. I'm thinking this will be a chronological series of one-shots, but I'll have to see how things work out. I doubt I'll have much time to write but I'll update when I can.**

**2\. I would have**_**loved**_**to write a hot sex scene right off the bat, but if there's one thing that Nalu thrives on as a ship, it's patience. Mashima's proven, at least to me, that the development and Natsu's and Lucy's relationship has come in small baby steps. For a character like Natsu it's very hard to just suddenly shove something as foreign to him as romantic love onto him and expect him to just play along. I expect resistance on both Natsu's and Lucy's part (I get the feeling they're both really big tsundere's on the inside), which is why I ask my readers to be patient. I'm not sure if I have it in me to write a decent lemon, but I hope the reward will be sweet in the end. Just have patience.**

**3\. Concerning the point above, that's why I had Lucy think about Happy a lot as well as Natsu, because like it or not Happy and Natsu are inseparable, and to consider one you must consider the other, especially if you are friends with both like Lucy. I guess you could say in this chapter we still have more of a friendship-ish relationship with a bit of hinting on either side. They do say slow and steady wins the race in any case.**

**4\. I hate Lucy's nickname of Luce. I will not be using it in this fic. - pet peeve**

**So, thanks for reading! I'd love to hear your comments! I myself think the beginning dragged on waaaay too long but I didn't have the heart to shorten all that writing after I haven't written anything legit for about 4 years.**

_**Edit:**_**I thought that Natsu's thinking process wasn't really in-depth enough, since why after all these years did things finally click? Well, it's been pointed out to me, and this is a really good point actually, that the reason why Natsu's been acting more serious around Lucy whenever something sexual comes around (kissing, boob touching/peeking, etc.) is because he's started to genuinely take an interest in her body. Before it was more "Ahaha eeew, girl cooties!" but now it seems as if things have become slightly more mature between them. I for one like this idea and I hope I expressed it well enough. Natsu really is a difficult character to write for.**

**~Luclipse**


	2. Train

**First things first, I apologize for the long wait! It's been about three months now hasn't it? I did want to make the updates monthly, or maybe even once every two weeks, but I don't have that much free time and I'm not that good of a writer (plus I'm a bit of a perfectionist). Anyway, I have quite a few things to say before I start the chapter.**

**While looking over last chapter's ending, I realized I was quite unsatisfied with it. It just cut itself off with Natsu acting a bit OOC in my opinion. So what I did before writing this chapter, which is part of the reason this took longer than expected, is write an alternate ending (no I didn't replace the first chapter's ending). The only problem with it is I think it pushed the pace a bit faster than I wanted it to go, and I may or may not have made Natsu even more OOC... At least in my opinion. With the rewrite though, I focused less on really delving into Natsu's mind as a character, but more just letting him act on his own in my head as I'm sure Mashima lets him do in his own head. I ended up liking this new ending better. If enough people review, I'll consider posting it as a Chapter 1 II for the readers to chose between, since both endings lead smoothly into the second chapter.**

**Moving on, its a pain in the butt but I had to turn in my school computer, meaning I have to use my iPad to type up new chapters as well as edit my fic Love for You. I don't have Word, Pages or even Textedit, so instead of settling straight for Notes I decided to try out this app I downloaded for free. Writing will definitely go a lot slower because of this and I can't guarantee the spelling and grammar will be spot-on all the time, but lets see how this goes and hope for the best.**

**Ah, and before I forget this too, scratch the point I made before about the chapters of this fic not being connected. Using my scant notes I managed to figure out an order that will make interconnected chapters work (which will probably be better for all of us). P.S. Warning: slight ElfEver, Gruvia and Gale.**

**Last but not least, thank you to all the readers that followed and faved this story right from the first chapter, it really means a lot! A special thanks to melt0928, Person, Sarsarwashere, BelieveInYourself7, shortypinkme, ChittiD, OMG, Rose, Sassy4ever, jacesangel184, XxFairytailNaluFanfictionsxX and Guest for reviewing! Oh boy oh boy oh boy, enough babbling! Sorry for the long wait and lets get started then shall we?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or Mashima's beautiful and creative brain.**

* * *

The first thing that registered in Lucy's mind when she woke up was the noise, specifically the infernal chirping of birds that seemed a bit too earnest to wait out the rest of the winter in Magnolia. With thoughts of having Leo chase away the annoying little things for good one day (a lion is close enough to a cat, isn't it?), the Stellar Spirit mage wanted to turn over and nod back off to sleep, but the broad daylight filtering through her window was forcing her awake.

_What the hell?_ She thought in disdain as she squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't remember leaving her curtains open the night before. In fact, the last she could remember was falling asleep on the edge of her bed, though now that she thought about it, she just woke up covered from nose to toe in a blanket. On top of that, she remembered clutching something in her hands. It was something very small and very dear to her... It was-

"The chocolate!" Cried Lucy as she searched frantically around her. She threw off the blanket to check for any dark chocolate stains that might be lurking on her sheets. When she didn't see any she thought she might have dropped it around the bed in her sleep, but still there was no sign of a tiny (and probably deformed) dragon anywhere.

_Alright, so I slept in my bed instead of on the floor, the chocolate is missing and I get this nagging feeling I was sleeping with a hot water bottle at one point in the night..._

_You're forgetting something very important_,_ Lucy._ Chimed a voice in her head. _Last night there were two people and a cat here, but you're alone now._

That's right! Natsu and Happy had woken up some time this morning undetected, having left most likely through her window without even demanding breakfast. This was very strange in and of itself. No loud Natsu waking up at six in the morning? No one working out in her living room, using her shower or rummaging in the fridge? Lucy suspiciously surveyed her surroundings. If they were planning to ambush her with a prank they would have leapt at her already, wouldn't they?

The poor mage massaged her temples. She's had too little sleep recently to deal with anything this early in the morning. Moaning in defeat, she started making her way to the bathroom. She learned long ago to never question Natsu's antics, only to grab onto something for dear life and hope she wouldn't have any repair bills to pay in the end. Worst comes to worst, she could always just yell at the pink-haired buffoon when she got to the guild.

Looks like it was just going to be another regular day at Fairy Tail.

* * *

Lucy opened the doors to the guild and stepped inside, taking note that all the decorations from the previous day had been taken down, except for something that caught here eye on the quest board. Curious, she went to take a look, only to find a bright poster, lined with celebratory frills, framing a picture that almost made her eyes pop out of her head.

It was one of -no- _the_ last thing she'd ever expected to happen, even on the day of love! It was a painting made by Reedus of none other than Evergreen and Elfman mid-kiss on the makeshift stage that was put up just yesterday. Evergreen was grabbing a very shocked Elfman by the collar, effectively pulling him into a rather forced kiss. Stranger yet was the fact that behind them was an ominous looking bowl of strawberries and whipped cream. When she looked closer at the other figures painted in the background, Lucy almost choked on her own spit. On the main couple's left was Gray taking a steamy bite out of Juvia's pale skin, right between her neck and shoulders. Obviously, Juvia looked as if she was caught in a dream, while Gray looked more embarrassed than the time he accidentally stripped in a church. Lucy had to slap a hand over her mouth to keep herself from laughing at the pure insanity of the situation. Her eyed glanced over to the right.

"_Eeeh_, is that _Levy_?!" She couldn't help but screech out loud. Somewhere in the guild hall, hidden behind a book, a script mage ducked her head in embarrassment. Lucy saw the named blunette's bottom lip was smothered with whipped cream, her finger on the corner of her mouth the telltale sign that the petite woman had put it there herself. Gajeel was hovering ever so close to her serious face, like a hungry wolf about to dig into a delicious snack.

Suddenly, Lucy felt a muscular arm hang on her shoulder.

"Mornin', Lucy! Whatcha lookin' at?" The man beside her was so close, she could smell the bacon he had for breakfast.

"Natsu!" She squeaked. No matter how many times he did that, the celestial mage could never quite get used to the surprise. "How many times have I told you to greet me like any normal person would?"

"I think just about a million, maybe two," he replied, giving his usual boyish grin without looking away from the notice board, "but I still don't see what the big problem is." Of course he wouldn't. Nothing but a powerful enemy (or severely angered nakama) could sneak up on the lug's heightened senses, especially when he was surrounded by so many familiar scents in the guild.

"Morning, Lucy!" Yelled Happy while flying up next to Natsu.

"Morning, Happy! You see Natsu? You don't have to scare someone half to death when you want to say hello." Ignoring Natsu's grunt of displeasure and his hot breakfast breath blowing on her cheek, Lucy asked, "Do you know what this is all about?" She indicated at the painting in front of her.

Natsu gave a short laugh. "Yeah, I've been hearing about that all morning! They say it was some sort of contest to see who could get the most intimate fastest."

The most intimate act to win first prize being a kiss, Lucy filled the rest of Natsu's brief explanation herself.

The dragon slayer's smile turned devilish. "Stripper-king's been complaining the contest was stupid and the hat draw for the pairings was rigged since he got here. Coming in last place really made his royal highness butthurt!" His great satisfaction was rolling off him in waves. "What a sore loser!" He laughed.

Lucy could speculate who would rig the contest, considering how specifically chosen the contestants were. Mira had a lot of explaining to do during the huge sleepover at Erza's a few nights from now! Brushing the arm off her shoulder, she muttered, "Makes sense why there would be whipped cream and strawberries then." The couples needed a way to warm up before going straight in for a kiss, or anything intimate for that matter, and having a bit of tasty guidance was probably a big help.

"Why's that?" Said Natsu in confusion as he turned towards his partner.

Lucy's jaw dropped. She could feel the slight heat rising to her face despite her annoyance, which only served to make her more inexplicably frustrated. She was _not_ going to educate her best friend on the importance of pacing a kiss. The poor mage turned her eyes to Happy for help, but the Exceed only stifled a giggle under his paws. _I'll get you for that later, cat!_ Lucy thought darkly.

"Ne, what's the big deal about eating food while kissing?" The pink-haired man crossed his toned arms over his chest.

Lucy could have face-palmed herself. "It's not the food that's important, it's-" she started nervously. "You can't just shove two people together randomly and tell them they have to- you know!" Making thrusting movements with her hands, Lucy just couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence. From the uncomprehending look on Natsu's face though, she willed herself to continue, albeit in a meeker voice. "T-to kiss and touch and stuff..." She could feel the blush she tried so hard to conceal finally break the barrier to her face.

"But why not? I'd say they were all wimps for not trying to be the fastest!" Natsu huffed in indignation. His point made total sense to him. He knew that kissing wasn't as simple as just shoving your lips onto someone else's lips or body part, of course there was an emotional aspect involved, but a competition was a competition, especially if it meant beating a certain ice-make mage. If both parties knew the kiss was in the spirit of crushing their opponents, he couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about.

His partner, on the other hand, could beg to differ. Lucy mimicked Natsu's defiant pose. "Natsu, a kiss is something entirely special! It holds a lot of meaning for the two people involved, no matter the situation!" She wracked her brain for a simple way to get her point across his thick skull. He usually understands things better first-hand, right? "Imagine if someone forced you on a stage in front of the entire guild like that, to kiss-"

Kiss whom? _Me_, she almost blurted.

_Why?_

_Simple_, she told herself, _I'm his partner!_ Deep down she knew it didn't make any sense. Mirajane picked couples that were entirely obvious to the everyone in the guild, that much she could tell. _We_ are _usually seen together_, she reasoned, _and my house is his personal playground, then there was that time he groped me_... She stifled a blush at the thought.

"Lucy?"

Her unfocused eyes barely registered Natsu's puzzled look. She must have spaced out mid-sentence.

"To kiss..." Spotting movement in the corner of her eye, without thinking she uttered, "Lisanna!"

Natsu's confusion matched Lucy's own. _Lisanna? Why Lisanna?_ She thought frantically, beads of sweat starting to line the determined mask on her face. Meanwhile, moving to sit down at a table a few meters away, Lisanna turned her head at the mention of her name, though she couldn't seem to find it's source.

"I'd do it in a heartbeat." Came Natsu's immediate response. Shocked, Lucy locked eyes with the fire mage. He was entirely serious.

The frown on her face deepened and her eyebrows scrunched together. _Well, it does make sense. I mean, they're childhood friends. I heard they even raised Happy together_, came Lucy's rational side. Despite this, the blonde could feel her already cranky mood sink further. It seemed the emotional side of Lucy did not agree.

Her emotional deflation didn't last for long as Natsu continued speaking. "That way, I'd still have enough time to get a look at ice-queen's or metal-head's face of complete defeat when I win first prize! Right, Happy?" He broke out into a loud, confident laughter.

"Aye sir!"

Lucy's mood upgraded from cranky to just plain fed up. He didn't get the message at all! She just decided to give up. There was no point in arguing further. While a small, unconscious part of her felt relieved, she ended up sighing in defeat. Just as she was about to chuck a final insult about his block-headedness, Natsu's arm brushed past her as he reached to grab a paper to her right, the small contact alerting her to his sudden proximity.

"I still don't get the stuff about the food and the kissing, but how about we do this mission today?" He held the sheet triumphantly. It was a mission to run out, or better yet, arrest a band of thieves called Silent Burdens from a faraway town. Lucy immediately weighed up the offer in her mind. On one hand, it took a good five hours to get to place by train, but the reward more than made up for the inconvenience, so long as she calculated in small- to medium-scale "Natsu damage". If everything went well, she could even have this month's rent by tomorrow evening at the latest! Just the thought made her frown turn into an ecstatic smile.

"Alright, if you bring the mission to Mirajane I can run home and pack my things. Give me about an hour, I still have to clean up my apartment."Despite her new enthusiasm and the money signs floating in her eyes, her reply was dry to say the least. Hey, officially she was still annoyed with her partner. That and she was not looking forward to somehow disposing of the moulds she shoved into a corner the other day before she had to cook Natsu's soup. She really shouldn't have bought so many of them in the first place, or bought them at all in hindsight.

A flash of horrified guilt briefly shot across Natsu's face, since he interpreted Lucy's unenthusiastic comment to be about the hoards of vomit that he assumed were still on her floor from yesterday. Before Lucy turned her gaze to him, he quickly covered his expression with a grin. No use in bringing it up unless she mentioned it specifically, or it would probably earn him a good whack on the head. "Sweet, we'll meet at the usual place then!" By which Natsu meant Magnolia Railway Station's ticket booth number four, run by a guy named Larry.

* * *

Once the tickets were bought, friendly exchanges with Larry made and boarding finally complete, Team Natsu made their way to their favorite seats in train car F. Ah, they weren't so much their ifavoritei seats as they were their idesignatedi seats every time they used the Fiore Express line, reason being the company owner received too many complaints from well-paying costumers about Natsu's unseemly motion sickness. While Lucy couldn't blame them, she didn't particularly like sitting in the last car. Don't get her wrong, the seats were quite comfortable and the snack cart was regularly stocked, but since this part of the train was always filled to the last spot with people she could hardly get any quiet reading done. That's why, as the blonde mage sat down in her usual seat, she didn't even bother to pull out the short (_ahem_, 500 page) book she brought with her. She knew what was coming next.

"Lucy~!" Whined a certain pink-haired man.

"Natsu, the train hasn't even started moving yet!" She looked at him patiently, like a mother would a stubborn child.

"But it will soon and then-" Natsu couldn't finish his sentence, turning green around the gills instead.

"At least sit down; there are other people waiting behind you." She chided and pat the seat beside her.

"Aye, Natsu! It's not so bad now!" Cried Happy as he flew over to Lucy's lap and curled himself into a ball.

"Fi~ne!" The dragon-slayer moaned. He sat with a thump, barely missing Lucy's hand as he did so, and slouched with his arms crossed over his chest. Lucy just smiled as she absently stroked the top of Happy's head.

There was a low grumble from underneath them, then a suppressed shriek of surprise from Natsu as the train lurched into motion. Already his cheeks individually blew themselves up to the size of balloons and his face turned as pale as a ghost's. Despite their disagreement that morning, Lucy really wished there was some way she could remove his crippling motion sickness, though she knew the only one capable of that was Wendy (or Erza if she punched the guy senseless first). Trying instead to distract herself from her partner's agony, and avert her eyes from the disgusted glares of her fellow passengers, she focused on finding the spot behind Happy's ear she knew would immediately put him to sleep. Sure enough, with a couple of motions the Exceed was purring as he quickly descended into the land of endless fish and dreams.

Now it was Natsu's turn.

"Alright Natsu, you know the drill." The celestial mage said while lifting Happy into the air. Quick as a flash, Natsu took Happy into his arms and laid the right side of his face on Lucy's lap. A minuscule wave of relief flooded over Natsu's distorted features since he no longer had to support the weight of his body. He breathed in, deep and ragged, only to let the air in his lungs go again in disappointment. No matter the position or how many times it occurred, motion sickness was motion sickness, but at least he felt a little bit better.

Without even needing to turn his head, Natsu knew that Lucy was gazing out of the window. If she wasn't reading a book, what else was there for her to do? They stayed like that for who knows how long, or an eternity according to the distressed young man, when he felt a pressure on his head. He felt slender fingers clumsily move along his scalp until they pulled up and teased the ends of his soft hair, then dive back down again and repeat the process. Slowly the fingers grew more accustomed to their massage, pull, tease motion until the whole thing started to feel rather good. On any other occassion, he would tell Lucy to stop being weird and leave his hair alone. It was an unmanly pink as it was, he didn't need someone fussing over it as if it were a cute animal's fur either. However, considering he was quite paralyzed at the moment he let it slide, that and her fingers were getting really, _really_ good at their job.

Natsu realized that Lucy was only doing this unconsciously as she was probably staring out into space, lost in her fantasy world that she often tended to explore, but he couldn't deny how distracting her nimble fingers were to his oh-so-aching head. He willed his mind to focus on the movement on his head instead of the clacking of metal wheels and shaking of the car, finding this exercise to be more effective than anything he'd tried before. Sadly, Lucy's fingers became slower and slower, to the point where they stopped altogether. So much for his new reprieve!

The dragon slayer tried shaking his body and gurgling a complaint of some kind to get her to continue, though she either didn't hear or get the message. He moaned her name, yet still no reply. Was she purposefully ignoring him now? Well, actually, Lucy fell asleep from exhaustion, but it's not as if he could tell that from his lying position on her thighs. Lacking the energy to continue, Natsu pulled his legs a little closer to his stomach and wracked his brain for another distraction method. If he couldn't do it by touch, taste (considering he would probably throw up), sight (his eyes were narrowed to the point of slits by his cheeks) or sound (he wasn't interested in the ladies gossiping across from him about how revolting he looked, he knew that already, thank you very much), then he could at least try smell.

Natsu took a good whiff of his surroundings. Cheap perfume? Check. Nose-hair singing B.O.? Check. Old vomit and spilt food? Double check. Happy? Check. Lucy? Che_\- wait, no_.

He turned his face slightly more to the side to get closer to her scent, which only earned him more snide comments from the women across from him, not that he really cared. He was sure her new over-scent had been strawberries just yesterday! Had she really changed it that fast? His nose was telling him that indeed she did, to something with lemon-grass and citrus fruits as a basis. He hated it when she did that! When _any_ woman in the guild did that really! It was so annoying having a keen sense of smell that allowed him to recognize people by scent, yet no woman wanted to smell as they did naturally. Sure deodorant was necessary and men used it too, but when body lotions and shower gels and perfumes and whatever else all smelt differently it was hard to zone in on the real smell underneath. Add the fact that all these smells could be easily replaced with others on a whimsy, and it was all just too much to keep up with sometimes. Natsu was especially sad that Lucy changed hers so often. She had a nice under-scent, one that was especially familiar and comforting.

So the fire mage decided to focus on Lucy's smell. Not her fake one, but her real one. All he could think was that it was nice. It was most likely creepy that he was doing something like this, though at this point in time with probably another three hours of transport to go, he would have dug to hell and back to make himself feel better, and better he did feel eventually. In fact, he could feel the dark abyss of sleep creeping up on him, which he welcomed with open arms.

* * *

"_-call for Azalea Town!_"

Lucy's consciousness was slowly coming back to her.

"_Last call for-_"

What the hell was that man shouting about? It was really annoying...

"_Last call for Azalea Town! All passengers-_"

Hmm, she remembered something about a flower-named town. Probably had to do with some mission or another.

"_We have now left Azalea Town, the next stop will be-_"

Ack, how she wished that guy would shut up already! Who cared what stop it was, they probably still had an hour's train ride left to go from what her sleep-drugged mind could tell. Speaking of which, she should just fall asleep again. She iwouldi need all her energy for the mission after all.

_Azalea Town... Azalea Town, why does it sound so familiar?_ Were her last coherent thoughts before darkness claimed her again.

* * *

Lucy woke up startled and in a cold sweat. Looking about frantically, the stellar mage realized the reason for her sudden awakening was because a tall man was towering over her, his large hand resting gently on her shoulder. The train stood motionless underneath them.

"Miss," the man said, "I'm sorry miss, but it's time for me to start cleaning up this cart."

_Huh?_ Lucy screeched internally. _But that could only mean-!_ "What time is it? What _station_ are we at!?" She yelled at the now bewildered janitor.

"Calm down, miss!" He drew his hand back from her shoulder. "We're at Sunnylodge City at the end of this Express line, and I'd say it's about 6 o' clock-"

"_What!?_" She shrieked. She couldn't believe it! She'd apparently slept for six hours and had missed their destination. How could she have been so stupid? Her brain was telling her it would be a good idea to wake Natsu and Happy, so she did with a few obscene shouts and whacks on the head.

"_Ow_ Lucy, that fuckin' hurt!"

"Yeah Lucy, that was mean!"

"Quite whining and shut up for a minute!" She snapped in return. "We missed our stop."

"_What!?_" They both screamed in unison. _My thoughts exactly_, thought Lucy.

Gathering a bit of her composure, Lucy asked, "Sir, do you know when this train returns back to Magnolia?"

The janitor stared at the blonde pityingly. She could tell he'd seen many situations like this before. "Sorry, but it's to late for any more Express trains to run today. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you and your boyfriend to leave, miss."

"_Eh?_ That can't happen! This train _has_ to go back!" Yelled Natsu while shooting up from his laying position.

Lucy sighed, choosing to ignore the 'boyfriend' comment like her partner. He had a point too. They had to show up for the mission by tomorrow at noon otherwise it would be passed on to another guild. If there was one thing Lucy refused to do, for the sake of Fairy Tail's newly recovered reputation and her rent money, it was give up this mission so easily. "We'll get off immediately, sir, but could you tell us how long it would take to Azalea Town by foot?"

The tall man looked surprised. "Azalea Town? Why, I'd say it'd take a good six hours or more depending on how fast you are!"

_Damn_, thought Lucy. Things were looking grim. "And the next Express train back?"

"Tomorrow's a working holiday, miss."

_Perfect._

"We'll walk then!" Natsu said, already bolting to the door of the train car. "C'mon, we've got no time to lose!" He was right of course.

"Aye sir!" And with that, Happy shot off behind him.

"You guys, wait!" Shouted Lucy to no avail. She turned to the janitor, "Thank you for your help and sorry for the trouble!" Nodding a quick bow and slipping on her backpack, the celestial mage ran to catch up with her teammates.

"It was no trouble, _my dear_." A wicked smirk began playing on the man's lips.

* * *

**Oki doki, so there's the new chapter! Again, a couple of things to say. First, sorry it was a lot shorter than the first chapter and relatively un-Nalu filled. I guess I just teased a few things here and there, maybe foreshadowed some things *ahem ahem* but nothing else besides, and for that I am sorry. My excuse is that I'm saving it for the next chapter, which (spoilers ahead) will be chalk full of so many moments it's as if Mashima himself wrote it. Sadly, 75% of it can still be considered platonic (just like Mashima-sensei, eh?), but it's better than the 95% you got with this chapter. Depending on how long I make the chapter, this figure could even drop to about 50% though, so hope for the best! Ah, and get ready for some angst as well as fluff... Just a warning...**

**Secondly, just as a side note, I really enjoyed playing around with Natsu's character (guess I could say the same for Lucy since I tend to play with my hands when I'm bored). I let him** **roam around in my head and realized that if I were him, I sure as hell would hate having all these confusing smells around me all the time, just because this one person switched body lotions! I also personally believe, as quite a few fans seem not to, that Natsu understands a lot more things than he lets on, he just has a different way of thinking about them, hence the argument at the beginning. I think he's actually really intelligent even though Mashima only rated him a 2/5 in that category.**

**Lastly, please do review, they've really helped me pushed myself to complete this chapter and don't forget I'd really like your views on whether I should put up the alternate ending chappy or not! Constructive criticisms would be very helpful too! I can't guarantee chappy 3 will come out within this month or the next, but I'll definitely try my best!**

**~Luclipse**


	3. Paradise

**... Wow, is this really happening? Have I actually updated a chapter around a month and a half after the previous one? No, your eyes don't deceive you, I have! Sorry it took so long but I had some issues with the plot. Also, let's just say all the kind reviews I've been receiving have really motivated me to do my best, so a special shoutout to Guest, Sassy4ever, SilverWolfFlight, WhiteWinterStar, Akari Ito, Liam, Rose, Fairytailpride and jacesangel184! Of course, a huge thanks as well to the people that have followed and faved this fic! I really can't believe that there are over 90 follows after only two (technically three) chapters, it makes me so happy ;w;!**

**Guest: I wanted to specially mention you because your review almost made me tear up! That's exactly the kind of writing I'm striving for and I'm so glad that you think I'm achieving it!**

**FairyTailNalu: Thank you so much! Natsu **_**is**_** really difficult to write for, but I'm so happy you think I'm getting his character right (my hard work isn't all for naught **ლ(́◉◞౪◟◉‵ლ)**)!**

**Rhearenee: I agree, I like the second ending so much more. I'm considering replacing the first chapter with the AE but I want some more opinions before I do it **_**so to all other readers, please review which ending you'd like to be the official first chapter! **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or Mashima's beautiful and creative brain.**_

* * *

"'Natsu, this is getting ridiculous! We should stop for the day!' She says."

"What are you talking about? We've only got two hours left to go!"

"Aye Lucy, we can make it!"

"'You're saying that while being carried, stupid cat!' She says."

Night had already fallen over Fiore as a dragonslayer, Exceed and giant clock spirit continued to amble through the desert that was this country's most Eastern province. Each and every star in the night sky could be seen in the clear, midnight blue sky, while a half-moon barely shone enough light for the wary travelers to see where they were going. Though one would assume a desert would remain hot long after the sun set for the day, temperatures actually _do_ drop immensely, believe it or not, and their journey was taking place in late February. Hence, while the fire mage and blue cat cuddled in the former's arms were sufficiently toasty, the poor celestial mage shivering inside of her spirit was not.

"I'm very sorry, but our contract has reached its limit." And with that, Lucy's only shelter from the biting cold disappeared through his gate, leaving her to fall rather harshly on her rear.

"Ouch!" She muttered, her feet trying to find purchase in the shifting sand. Goosebumps formed all down her body as she felt a cool breeze shove loose grains against her bare lower-back.

"Oi, Lucy, you alright?" Natsu started making his way towards her.

"Yeah, I 'll be fine. Would be nice if Holologium gave more of a warning before he did that..." Lucy pushed her feet underneath her and was about to stand up herself when she saw an arm reach out to her. Looking up, she could make out the faintest outlines of Natsu's outstretched hand. She smiled, accepting his silent offer by clasping it and pulling herself upright. "Thank you." The blonde let her hand linger a little to affirm her words. Due to his general obliviousness and insensitivity, Lucy came to appreciate these small actions of concern that came from him, though she reassured herself it was only because the occasions were so rare. Her hand felt a slight squeeze of reciprocation before they broke contact.

"You can walk a little now, right?"

So much for _that_ sweet and caring moment. What was she expecting anyway?

"I mean, you were carried for a whole half-hour, so you should be fine."

Lucy's shoulders drooped. She didn't have it in her to even be annoyed with him because of how tired she was. Anyone would feel the same after walking four hours through a wasteland in the middle of winter! It was nothing short of a miracle that Natsu still had it in him to continue till Azalea Town. "Natsu," she said, trying to keep the whine out of her voice, " I can't walk anymore or my legs will fall off, if they don't freeze into popsicles first!"

Now it was Natsu's turn to be exasperated. This situation happened way too often for his liking. "Didn't you bring any warm clothes?" He asked.

Ignoring the fact he was completely missing her point, Lucy blanched, holding her hands up defensively. "Well, uh, just a pair of fuzzy socks and long pajamas." _I think..._ She added to herself. She _had_ been in a rush to pack after all.

"That's _it_?" The dragon slayer gawked. "After all the times you complain about being cold, you didn't even bring a pair of pants?" It seemed the day men understood the world of women would not be in Natsu's lifetime at least.

Lucy was taken aback, mostly because she found herself wondering the same thing every time something like this happened. Still, he didn't have to be so blunt about it. Regaining her fighting spirit despite her exhaustion, she shouted,"It's not like I expected to be stranded in the middle of a freezing desert this morning! Plus, not all of us have a dragon-fueled boiler as an internal heating system!"

"We wouldn't be stuck out here if you hadn't fallen asleep!" Natsu huffed, taking a step towards Lucy to size her up in the dark.

Lucy didn't even bother reacting, since she knew he'd never hurt her. She narrowed her eyes dangerously instead, hoping Natsu could see them in the meager light. "And who's fault is that exactly?"

After that stinging remark, insults were thrown back and forth, the blame for this and that laid on one person or the other, with voices rising higher and higher as the disagreement escalated into an full-grown argument. In fact, the topic of walking to Azalea Town was lost along the way. The bickering would have continued if it weren't for trusty Happy.

"Hey you two! You're making too much noise, I can't sleep!"

Natsu and Lucy turned their attention to the blue Exceed laying in the fire mage's arms. They were so preoccupied fighting that they hadn't noticed Happy had drifted off at one point. Happy rubbed his eye sleepily and yawned. "That's better." The cat purred as his eyelids started to droop again.

Both mages abandoned their angry demeanors, ashamed that they didn't think Happy might have an opinion of his own. He was a vital part of Team Natsu as well. This revelation spurred Natsu to do a bit of calculating. Obviously, Happy just wanted a place to sleep, and Lucy couldn't agree with him more. Besides the physical exhaustion, all of them were as crabby as Erza after eating a disappointing slice of cake, which was getting them nowhere at the moment. The pink-haired man looked from Happy, to Lucy, then back again. Sighing, he said, "Come on, let's go."

"Go?" Asked Lucy increduously. "Go where?"

"To hunker down for the night." Natsu gave Lucy a backwards glance while he turned to walk in a south-east direction. "I smelled an oasis we could shelter in about half a mile back."

"An oasis?" Her eyes started to shine with pure delight. Even the ground they were standing on would have been a comfortable place for them to spend the night in her tired opinion, but an oasis in this good-for-nothing hellhole of a desert sounded like a heaven on Earth! "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"'Cuz I knew you'd want to stop there if I did." He mumbled, earning him an angry _humpf_ from his partner. The only thing keeping Lucy from complaining was the fact he was right. _He knows me too well by now_, she thought, finding it to be both endearing and severely irksome at the same time.

They trudged along, side by side, in a comfortable silence, or as silent as shuffling feet and body-wracking shivers could get. For the first ten minutes or so, there were nothing but sand dunes the size of small hills to walk over, though eventually the landscape started to flatten out considerably, which Lucy assumed was because they were nearing the oasis. This made her pick up her feet a little higher, quicken her pace a little more and try to force out the weariness and cold that had already settled into her very bones. Even still, she couldn't get her teeth to stop chattering or prevent her lips from gaining a slightly blue tinge. In all fairness, it was Lucy's own fault for not even bringing a sweater, but in her current state she wasn't ready to admit that, and no one knew that better than the man beside her. While on one hand Natsu wanted nothing more than to help his friend warm up in some way, the only ideas he had were to either give Lucy his scarf, set her clothes on fire or to drape an arm around her and pull her body as close to his as possible. The first option would have been out of the question even if the gods themselves asked for his scarf, he knew Lucy wouldn't like the second option very much from past experiences and the third option... Lets just say that, as much as the dense side of Natsu tried to deny it, after the events of the previous night a more instinctive part of the fire mage insisted that such proximity in this isolated place would be ill-advised. So Natsu clenched his jaws and focused on the smell emanating from the green leaves and gurgling water he was certain were less than a few minute's walk away.

There was something that was bothering him, however, as the team closed in on their destination. His instincts told him to dash towards the place at full speed and run away from it as fast as possible. It made him confused, slightly apprehensive and, most of all, extremely agitated. Why did he feel like he was about to step into his home and be caught in an animal trap at the same time? The very thought of being caged like a beast made his entire body bristle, but his guard started to slip every time he inhaled the musky scent of a very nostalgic odor. It guided his mind into a trance-like state, devoid of reason or emotion, simply tugging the dragon slayer in the right general direction. If Lucy was able to see his behavior in the dark, it probably would have been as good a sign as any to get the hell away from whatever could possess Natsu in such a way. Seeing as that was not the case, the duo came upon a thick wall of vegetation before long.

Lucy could have jumped for joy. "We're finally here." She sighed with delight. "Do you think we should find a source of water or settle down here for the night?" All she was met with was silence. "Natsu?" The celestial mage surveyed her surroundings as best she could and came up two heads short. _That idiot! He doesn't even know what's out there and he decides to just stroll on in like he owns the place!_ She screeched internally. _That and he left me behind! How the hell does he expect me to _find_ him now?_

Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, her question was answered. A firefly, which virtually materialized out of nowhere, decided to float right before her eyes. Despite how close it came to Lucy's face, she was neither afraid nor surprised, rather she was entranced by the bug's clumsy attempts at keeping itself airborne with its tiny wings. It slowly moved away from her towards the ground while drifting left and right, left and right, as if it was tempting her to follow it. Immediately, a part of her inexplicably realized it was taking her to Natsu. Fully aware that the appearance of the firefly was all too convenient, and that she was possibly going insane because of her awry sleeping patterns, Lucy thought it best to tag along with it. If anything, it would at least light a path during her search for a certain dragon-slaying blockhead. As if on command, the firefly sped up its lazy flight, leaving Lucy to follow it at a brisk pace.

They moved through the lush undergrowth for a good while until they reached a forest of tall, spiraling palm trees. How long they walked exactly, Lucy really couldn't tell anymore. Aiming to distract her mind from her aching legs and the sounds of nocturnal creatures she was just beginning to notice, she called for Natsu and Happy every few steps, though she knew it was basically pointless. The firefly was taking her to them, so why even bother? _But isn't this too strange?_ Lucy thought suspiciously. Despite her princess-like upbringing, she wasn't an airhead. The blonde had a good head on her shoulders and a knack for sniffing out the weird and unusual, considering she was pretty normal herself. _Too many things just don't add up. How in the name of Mavis do I know this _bug_ is taking me to where I want to go? Speaking of strange occurrences, I'm _sure_ I remember hearing us pull in to Azalea Town's station today, but somehow I just fell right back asleep..._

She didn't have much time to dwell on these perfectly logical thoughts, for the trees began to thin and she could see a fire in the distance. Judging by its size, Lucy could tell it was a campfire, though whom it belonged to she had yet to find out. There was a good chance it was created by Natsu, but she hovered a hand over her keys anyway. Ever so cautiously, she crept from tree to tree until she was one palm away from the source of the warmth and light.

"Hey, Lucy? Is that you?"

_Thank goodness! _The celestial mage sighed and emerged from her hiding place, relieved that she finally found her teammate and that she hadn't gullibly followed a glowing bug for nothing. "Yeah, I'm here."

"What took you so long? See? I set up camp and everything!" Natsu flashed her his characteristic grin before turning back to the meat he had cooking.

"_You're_ the one that left me in the first place!" She shouted icily, although her newfound malice melted into awe as she finally took a look at her surroundings. What she saw took her very breath away. Their campsite happened to be a grassy clearing about twenty meters in diameter. Palm trees enclosed the edges of the clearing to form an almost perfect circle, but due to the size of the open space, a good portion of the starry sky could still be seen. To the left was a cave large enough to house a giant at least, with impossibly long tendrils of ivy covering the opening entirely, indicating the space hadn't been used for many years. Most interestingly of all, it had scorch and scratch marks covering the outside, as if the cave had been carved from a rock with the brute force of a dragon. On the opposite side of the clearing was a hot spring no larger than her apartment. It was replenished by a stream and outlined with evenly sized rocks, making it seem like a human had something to do with the spring's maintenance. Lastly, smack-dab in the center of it all was Natsu stuffing his face with the meat he'd prepared, sneaking in a side-dish of campfire here and there of course.

Her geography books were right, oases really were unforgettable paradises. "Natsu, this place is beautiful!" She murmured and made her way towards the fire.

"It sure is!" He replied cheerfully, but as he turned his eyes back to the food, his expression turned thoughtful. His sudden shift in demeanor caught Lucy off-guard. Sitting down on her knees beside him and dropping her backpack to the ground, she noticed that even his chewing became less eager than before. She tilted her head to examine his face more carefully. After all, this wasn't a sight she got to see very often.

"So where's Happy?"

"In the cave."

"Who do you think lives here? I mean, the hot spring looks pretty well kept, almost like someone had just cleaned the place up."

"Mm, dunno." Natsu said around a mouth full of food.

Undeterred, the blonde smiled to try brightening the mood. "What do you think could have lived in such a big cave? The markings make it pretty obvious it was carved out of a rock." A glimmer reached her eye as she continued, "With those burn marks, I bet it might've been a dragon that did it!"

Lucy was on the edge of her metaphorical seat. If it was something about dragons, especially if it might lead to clues about his adoptive father, Natsu was all ears and toothy grins. Not to mention he would search every nook and cranny of the place while simultaneously yelling "Igneel" as loud as his larynx would allow. In fact, the celestial mage was thoroughly surprised he wasn't doing so at this very moment. Had he looked already and come up empty-handed?

"Yeah, maybe." The pink-haired man gave her another smile, somewhat weaker than usual, before returning his clouded gaze to the fire. Though his munching didn't cease, Lucy could tell it was more for show than anything.

_Well, that's just rude! And here I was, trying to cheer him up with something other than food. _She thought peevishly as she stared at his preoccupied face. _... Wait. Is this what I _think_ this is? Natsu is actually _lost _in_ thought_?_ This was a very rare occasion indeed, one she had only seen a handful of times before, and never was it a good thing. The last occurrence she remembered was right after he defeated future Rogue and crushed the Eclipse gate. She recalled watching him with his back facing her, and although she couldn't see his face, his stiff features betrayed what sort of thoughts were going through his mind. The thoughts were hurting him, clawing at him from the inside, simply tearing at the foundations that made Natsu the man he was. His very being was shaken, which made him grow silent and contemplative. It was a good thing the sudden urge to hug him came when it did, or who knew how long that spell would have lasted?

"Natsu, is something wrong? You're being so quiet it's almost scary!" Lucy said, laughing nervously at the end.

"Who, me?" Chuckled Natsu. "I'm fine, what're you talking about? I could walk from here to Azalea Town right now if I wanted to!" He threw back his head and laughed so hard that Lucy could have been fooled he was just as dandy as he claimed to be, if only for half a second. At least she could see a bit of spirit return to his charcoal eyes. "I can take on whatever monsters are in this jungle with one hand –no– one finger!"

She concernedly peered at his face once more before dropping the subject. It seemed to be something Natsu wanted to avoid like the plague. Lucy definitely had thoughts she would rather keep to herself, even if it meant causing a bit of inner turmoil from time to time, so she'd leave him be. If he wanted to talk, she would listen to her partner without hesitation.

"I see… Well then, I think I'll go take a soak in the hot spring! It's been so long since I've been in one!" Just knowing the steaming water was close made her insides bubble deliciously. Not only would her body finally be warmed, but she could wash out the sand that had collected in her clothes as well, most notably in her socks and underwear. She'd rather not disgrace herself tomorrow morning by turning up smelly and wind-tussled either.

"Cool! Let me go grab my towel and I'll go with-" Natsu would have dashed to his backpack if it wasn't for Lucy choking him back by the scarf.

"Do you not have _any_ sense of decency?" Lucy screeched.

"What? It's not like it's a separated bath or anything. Plus, I smell rain on the way-"

"Natsu, you hot-head! I am _not_ going to sit in a hot spring with you at the _same time_!" She snapped. There had been too many situations involving the two of them and nudity already. It was as if some omnipotent god was purposefully taking every opportunity to flash some part of her voluptuous body for others' enjoyment.

There was a moment of silence as the mages glared at each other.

"Well it ain't like I'll be seeing anything new anyway!"

"_Idiot!"_ Lucy yanked on Natsu's scarf until he was toppling towards her rump-first, giving her the perfect opportunity to land a swift "Lucy Kick" to his lower back. The dragon slayer ended up falling flat on his face into the campfire. Any normal person would have been scared out of their mind at this turn of events, but these two crazy kids weren't exactly normal, were they?

"Oi!" Pushing himself up on his hands, Natsu turned around with a look of annoyance, though all that served him was a fit of giggles from Lucy. "What's so funny?" He hollered. Lucy did nothing but point at his face, which was covered in ash. Natsu reached a hand up to assess the damage, but only made matters worse by leaving a hand-print on his cheek and further smudging his already black nose. He really didn't see what he was doing wrong until he finally looked down at his filthy hands. "What the- how the hell did this happen?"

The celestial mage's giggles then turned into a laugh of hysteria. Who knew someone like Natsu could be as adorable as a puppy playing in mud for the first time? She supposed his innocence was part of his friendly charm. When she could properly breathe again, Lucy said, "Looks like you _actually _need a bath now too!"

Realizing the hilarity of his situation, Natsu couldn't help but give a bark of laughter as well. "Sure does!" Whether the blonde realized it or not, this was why he would crash at her place whenever he found himself in a bad mood. Simply being in the same room as this weird girl was enough to lift Natsu's spirits, despite what he let on. That's what best friends are for anyway, right? He watched Lucy wipe away the tears that had collected at the corners of her eyes, suddenly getting the biggest urge to take her face into his hands and smother some ashes on her cheeks as revenge.

"Well, since you're probably quicker, you can use the hot spring first." Lucy stood and stretched leisurely. Just as Natsu had done for her earlier, she offered a hand to help the fire mage to his feet, which he gladly accepted with a genuine smile. "Just hurry up, alright? I'm still so tired I could sleep for a month!"

"Right, right." He replied in mock exasperation.

As Natsu walked over to his backpack in the cave, Lucy sat by the campfire again so that her back was facing the spring. For a couple of minutes, all Lucy could hear was Natsu sifting through his oversized rucksack for a towel while muttering to himself occasionally. Hence, without much to do, she eventually spaced out as she gazed into the shifting and crackling glow of the fire. With every passing second, she could feel her resolve to stay awake dwindle exponentially, and she would have fallen asleep if it wasn't for the triumphant cry of her partner. _Pull yourself together, Lucy! You _need_ that bath!_ She thought, mustering the last of her strength into refocusing her eyes and tuning her ears to the jungle noises surrounding her. When that plan also started to fail, Lucy came to the conclusion that maybe thinking about something – anything at all really – might help. _Well, Natsu should be taking off his clothes now, so it shouldn't be much longer till I can go in…_

She was right. Not a minute later, there was a splash and hoot of contentment from the pink-haired man as he dunked himself into the scalding water. Leave it to Natsu to be unfazed by anything boiling hot. Thinking it was about time to stretch her legs, Lucy got up, picked up her pack and walked to the entrance of the large cave while taking extra precautions to face anywhere but the hot spring behind her. She brushed aside the ivy in her way and ducked inside the spaciously carved rock, which was so spacious in fact, that the light from the camp fire couldn't reach anywhere near the back of it when she pulled the ivy as far to the side as she could reach, leaving only enough light to see barely two meters ahead. As Natsu mentioned earlier, Happy was already curled up into a ball near the edge of where the light touched, peacefully snoring away. The blonde bent down near the mouth of the cave so she could see the contents of her bag better and fished out what she would need for her own bath. She took out a towel, her toiletries, pajamas, gate keys and hairbrush, then proceeded to strip and wrap the towel around her. _May as well save some time by changing already_. Her mind felt as if it was drunk from sleeplessness as she formed the thought in her head. _Besides,_ she admitted groggily, _Natsu was right when he said he'd seen it all before…_

Once she was done, she set up her sleeping bag near Happy, albeit with some difficulty considering the plant tendrils only let in flickering light in thin strips, so that she could sit comfortable while she waited for Natsu to finish. Letting her tired mind wander, her senses soon locked onto the sounds of the gurgling stream and her partner's splashing. She assumed he was washing himself outside of the spring now that she was out of sight. Closing her eyes, Lucy imagined him shampooing his pink locks and smirked. Due to his gruff nature, she still couldn't get over how much his soft, femininely colored hair contrasted his character. Her dawdling mind then travelled down to the scar on his neck that she only ever had the chance to see once because of his scarf-wearing habit. Distant alarm bells sounded as she continued to let her mind's eye roam further down imaginary Natsu's chiseled chest to his even more muscular abs, where his second set of scars lay engraved on his left side.

_Those scars…_ They dredged up too many unwanted memories to say the least, but as painful as it was for Lucy, they must have been even worse for Natsu, what's worse being that a part of his own body was a constant reminder of it. _What's wrong with me, anyway?_ Lucy chided herself. _Just because Natsu naked right outside doesn't give me an excuse to think about-_

"Hey, Lucy, I'm all done now so you can go in." Lo and behold, the man in question stood at the mouth of the cave with one arm holding ivy branches and the other keeping up the towel around his waist. "The water's totally amazing! You should hurry up though; I'd say you've got half an hour at best before the rain hits."

"Natsu! You scared me." Lucy yelped. She hadn't heard him coming, nor did she expect him to be clothed in something as meager as a towel that barely reached his mid-thigh. Not only that, he was still relatively wet. In the dim firelight, the celestial mage could just about make out the beads of water scattered on the toned muscles she was picturing moments ago in her head. The oddly colored hair she also imagined was not as spiky as she was used to, instead drooping a bit as if gravity finally remembered how to carry out its job, leaving the fringe the fire mage usually styled up to fall slightly into his eyes. The sight was enough to make any woman squeal with the sexual frustration of a seal in heat, though the thing that knocked the breath from Lucy harder than a kick to the chest was Natsu's smoldering gaze. Granted, he was only squinting because of the hair in his eyes, but the way he captured her gaze in an instance, searching her like the pages of a book for a reply she hadn't even began processing yet, was undeniably… _Something_ _else_. The intimate feeling of familiarity was enough to make Lucy wrench her eyes from his and whip her head to the side in an attempt to hide the blush forming on her face. "Shouldn't you be wearing something other than just a towel?"

Natsu shrugged and moved toward his backpack at the other end of the entrance, plunging the two into a deeper darkness. With his back towards her, he scooped up his pile of clothes from the floor and said, "Aren't you wearing just a towel, too?"

_Crap, I forgot!_ She squeaked internally. "W-well, that's true…" Lucy mumbled incoherently, or at least that's what she wanted to think, given Natsu's superior hearing. Oh great gods, how she wished her face would stop flushing uncontrollably. She needed an escape, and fast, otherwise who knew what other idiocy her brain would come up with next? The blond stood up quickly after snatching the items she'd prepared from beside her. With a nervous smile, she managed to stutter, "I-I'll be g-going in then!" before she disappeared through the mouth of the cavern.

As soon as she reached the hot spring, the first thing the celestial mage did was crouch, drop her armful of items on the ground and shove her head into the palms of her hands. _How embarrassing! _She yelled over and over in her head. _Just pull yourself together, Lucy! All you need is that bath and then you can go to sleep. Yes, sleep'll do the trick! Then all of these strange thoughts will go away. I bet Natsu forgot about it already, anyway. _She reasoned with herself. _Once this job is over, I can stay in bed for a whole week and no one can tell me otherwise!_

Now that she was feeling a bit better, Lucy carried herself, as well as her things, to the area of the hot spring farthest from the cave. Making sure to place her keys on top of her clothes in case something should happen, she then hesitantly slipped the towel off her curvaceous body and placed it by the rest of her bath items before stepping into the deep, steaming water as carefully as she could. When everything up to her chin was soaked, she sighed audibly. "Finally!" The word poured out like a purr rumbling from a cat. Natsu wasn't kidding when he said the water was amazing. She could already feel the tension seeping from her body being absorbed by the water around her. All the wear and tear of three day's hard work and not enough sleep was being removed from her system, until eventually her every nook and cranny was relieved from stress and her energy levels felt rebooted. The feeling was infinitely better than a hot stone massage and a month's worth of vacation put together. It started making her feel guilty for ever doubting this glorious oasis and whatever helpful bugs resided in it. Why did she ever think of bringing her gate keys to the bath with her in the first place? There wasn't anything to worry about here…

With nothing in particular on her mind, Lucy relaxed in the water until she felt it was time to wash herself outside of the spring, which was much more difficult and cold than she anticipated without a bucket, then waded into the bath again to a stone she could sit on comfortably. The blond looked up at the sky briefly and saw dark clouds had obstructed her view of the stars. _What a shame, the stars were so pretty. _Suddenly, just as Lucy closed her eyes for a few minutes, or what she thought were a few minutes, she heard sounds of chattering. At first she ignored it because the racket seemed to be some distance away, though it only got louder and louder as time went on. She couldn't bring herself to care that much about it, not with the hot water there to take away all her troubles, so she cracked open an eye nonchalantly to see what was going on. During her little snoozing period, it seemed a troop of the most adorable monkeys she'd ever seen had surrounded the hot spring. More specifically, they had messily arranged themselves around her pile of clothes, keys and toiletries.

She paid them no heed until one of them started playing with her towel. She made a lazy attempt to shoo them off from where she sat, as she didn't feel inclined to budge an inch from her comfortable position, though it did nothing to stop the smallest of the group from putting her panties on its head. It reminded her of the time Happy had put one of her bras over his ears and pretended they were adventurer goggles.

_And now it looks like one of them has my keys… Oh, wait-_ "My keys! _Don't touch those!_" Lucy shouted as she stood up. If there was one thing she wouldn't let anyone get their filthy paws on, it was her celestial keys. Although she knew it was futile, she yelled, "Put the keys down! Shoo, _shoo!_"

Obviously, the young girl hadn't been educated on proper etiquette when dealing with a troop of wild monkeys, since this only served to upset them drastically. Despite their previously harmless appearance, the entire legion was suddenly hollering with fur raised, teeth bared and claws lashing at her. They didn't dare touch the water, but they sure as hell weren't going to give up their looted prizes so easily, especially when they outnumbered her at least twenty to one. The female that snatched her keys started jumping up and down frantically, smashing the gold and silver metal onto the hard rock of the hot spring's edge each time she landed with a sickening _clang_.

And that was when it happened. The fog that had been obscuring her mind's faculties ever since she stepped foot into this place was lifted and instead replaced by white, hot anger. There was not a soul on Earthland that could treat her keys with such disrespect. "Hey, you stupid beasts! Give everything _back!"_ She couldn't remember the last time she shouted so hard. Moving as quickly as her body would allow, Lucy pushed and shoved her way to the edge of the bath, desperate to get the keys from that damn monkey.

"Lucy?"

_Drip, drip, drop._

While Lucy paid no attention to the small droplets of rain, or the voice of her partner, and pushed onward, the leader of the troop immediately took action. He screeched at his subordinates to listen, grabbed as many of Lucy's things as he could carry and ran off into the palm trees. Many of the others followed suite, but the female with the keys wasn't fast enough. Just as the thing was about to run away, Lucy grabbed it by the tail and yanked as hard as she could. Startled and enraged, the monkey threw the keys in an attempt to hit the mage, but they landed in the water right next to her. Lucy immediately let go of the tail and scooped up her precious gate keys, relieved to feel their calming pressure in her hands again.

_Drip, drip, drip, drop. Drip, drip, drip, drop_.

The rain started to pick up, fast and hard.

"Lucy, what happened here?" Natsu appeared in her peripheral vision. On reflex, Lucy felt her arm encircle her chest.

"They took all my stuff, but I managed to get my keys back." She replied. To hell with all her shampoos and clothing, or the fact that Natsu was in a great position to see her completely naked, at least she didn't lose her most important physical possessions.

Without another word, Natsu shot off like a bullet, his target set on the culprits at hand. Scared by Natsu's sudden reaction, the female monkey fled like lightning in the direction of her troop with a howl. That was all the dragon slayer needed. It was just a game of cat-and-mouse from there. Ignoring the torrential downpour that fell from the sky as if the heavens themselves were ripped apart, he vanished into the jungle, howling his own threats and curses at the wild animals he was chasing.

"Natsu, wait! What if you get-" Her voice was drowned out by the rain. "Lost…"

_That's just like him. _She thought in dismay. _I should go after him._ But then what? The rain was so terrible and the clearing so dark that at this point she could hardly see a hand's breadth in front of her, plus she was naked and drenched. She could catch a lot worse than a cold in the conditions she was in, and the chances of her finding Natsu were one in a million, maybe less, even with the help of someone like Virgo. Speaking of which, she should call her out once she was somewhere dry to get her some warm clothing. Hence, as much as she wanted to rush to Natsu, who she knew only wanted to help in his own block-headed way, she settled on worrying about him instead and getting herself inside the cave as soon as possible.

As slowly and carefully as she could manage, Lucy wadded her way to the edge of the hot spring in the direction she hoped the cave to be in. When she began pulling herself out of the hot water, however, she felt the energy she'd finally regained slip away from her. Weariness once again settled into the core of her being and the freezing rain flushed the heat straight out of her. She didn't understand. She was feeling just fine a second ago! Steeling her nerves, Lucy dragged the lower portion of her body out of the spring and felt her reserves sink further. It felt as though even her magic had been depleted now. _What is up with this place?_

_Just get to the cave!_ She chanted. It was getting there or hypothermia. Standing made her a bit dizzy, which she accredited to her sudden change in body temperature, but nothing she couldn't handle, so she wandered as best she could through the dark and cold. Miraculously, before long she felt the tendrils of ivy brush against her bare skin. Shivering and soaking wet, Lucy stepped onto the mercilessly cold stone floor.

"Who's there?" Shouted a frightened voice.

"Happy," called Lucy soothingly, "it's me."

"Lu~cy!" Cried the Exceed with joy. "Where are you?"

"I'm m-m-moving over to my s-sleeping bag now, b-but don't do anything too quickly," she added between shivers, "s-some monkeys made off with m-my c-c-clothes."

Sounds of an Exceed and mage shuffling in the dark echoed in the dark space. "Is that what all that noise was about?" Happy asked.

"Yep, and now N-natsu's decided to chase after them. Ah, f-f-found it. Happy, try grabbing onto my hand." Lucy stretched out her arm, waved it about a bit and felt warm fur.

"Are you okay?" He asked after latching onto her ice-cold hand.

"I'm naked, f-f-freezing and tired, of c-course I'm n-not okay." She replied without her usual scolding tone. "I'll be m-moving into the sleeping bag b-before calling Virgo, s-s-so don't let go of me."

"Aye!"

Lucy fumbled with the zipper, considering one hand was occupied by Happy and the other was holding her celestial keys, though when she finally managed to slip inside she felt a small sense of relief wash over her. "N-n-now, Open the Gate of the Maiden: V-virgo!" She made her regular summoning motion and waited for a familiar golden light to appear, yet after waiting a few moments, the pink-haired maid was nowhere to be found. Concerned, Lucy tried again, but was met with disappointment. There seemed to be no familiar tug on her magic power at all, as if it had completely disappeared despite not having used an ounce of it since summoning Holologium.

"What's wrong, Lucy?" Asked Happy.

"I d-don't know. I feel like my m-magic's b-b-been drained." She said in dismay. Before stepping into the hot spring she had only been physically exhausted, which affected her mentally a little but shouldn't have had anything to do with the level of Eternano in her body. Now Lucy felt ten times colder, ten times more tired and, most of all, completely useless. She'd been a fool for letting her guard down about this suspicious place at the prospect of a bath.

Just then, the sound of heavy footfalls could be heard from outside. Lucy raised herself on an elbow so that she could face the cavern's entrance, unconsciously pushing Happy to the side so he could protect himself behind her.

"Damn, it's really pouring out there!"

At the sound of Natsu's voice, Lucy released the breath she'd been holding.

"Natsu, you're back!" Happy said, tightening his clutch on Lucy's hand.

"Yeah," the dragon slayer replied while conjuring a bright flame in the palm of his hand, "I couldn't get your clothes back though, Lucy. I thought I was on their trail until I found out I was running in circles. It's like they just vanished!" The irritation was evident on his face. Happy flew over to the pink-haired mage and gave him a hug, which made Natsu's scowl turn into a soft grin. "Sorry for worrying you, Happy."

"S'okay." The blue Exceed said, then dropped to the floor and returned to Lucy's side.

Well, even if he did find her clothes, they wouldn't have been much help. Now that her adventure apparel was gone and Virgo was unavailable, there was one last option she could try. "I-it's fine." Lucy stuttered. "C-c-could you get me my backpack?"

Natsu complied, and after placing the rucksack in front of her he squatted down next to her so that she could have more light to see with. He noted that her lips were turning blue with cold. After a mumbled "thanks", Lucy dug into the depths of her bag, searching for the pajamas she really wasn't so sure she'd actually packed and coming up empty handed, save for her fuzzy pink socks. _Just my luck…_

"Are you missing somethin' else?" Natsu enquired.

"It l-looks like I forgot my PJs at h-home after all." Muttered Lucy in despair, coming to the conclusion that she really needed some tips from Erza when it came to being prepared for anything mission-related.

"So you really don't have anything to wear?" Natsu prodded and turned his sharp eyes toward the blonde.

When their eyes connected, Lucy was reminded of their close proximity, as well as the fact that the only thing separating her naked body from his was the relatively thin fabric of her sleeping bag. However, she averted her eyes and firmly said "no" more out of wounded pride than embarrassment.

"Guess that leaves me no choice then." The dragon slayer stood, backed up to the wall of the cave and punched his fists together. Instantly, fire engulfed him and billowed out to his left and right. It simultaneously dried him completely and increased the temperature of his surroundings by a small degree without singeing anyone's hair off. Next, Natsu unbuttoned his vest, shrugged it off and tossed it to where Lucy was laying.

Lucy managed to grab it with one arm. It was warm and smelled wonderfully like a warm hearth, but she stared at it blankly. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"You put it on, idiot." He smirked idly.

"Put it on?..." She questioned. The thoughts in her mind weren't piecing themselves together, maybe due to her sleep deprivation. He just gave her his shirt to wear to bed. Was this really Natsu or some alien that happened to look like him? Sure their friendship upgraded to best buds a long time ago, but never did she believe a day would come when Natsu Dragneel – _the_ Natsu Dragneel – did something so trivial like this for her, despite it being her own fault in the first place. It wasn't the first time he went out of his way to help her or make her happy, though it normally meant a world of torment for someone else.

"He liiiiiiiiiikes her!" Happy purred unhelpfully.

"Well, yeah, isn't that what you're supposed to do with clothes?" Natsu gave her his signature deadpan look of annoyance, the one he always pulled when he thought she was being an idiot. "You could just give it back. Or is it because you don't want me looking while you change or something weird like that?"

"Natsu…" Lucy tried to add an edge to her voice and failed miserably. She was too shocked and sleepy to care at this point. "F-f-fine then, t-turn around at least. You too, you p-perverted cat."

"Natsu, Lucy's being mean!"

"You've got that right! C'mon Happy, let's go over to my sleeping bag." They did just that and Natsu extinguishing his flames, lying with his back towards Lucy and Happy cuddled soundly in his arms.

As she battled with covering herself and tugging on Natsu's vest at the same time, she heard her two teammates whisper a grudged goodnight, so she replied in kind. She only scarcely managed to zip the thing up over her cleavage without breaking it, rolled up a part of his full sleeve to fit her and tied the tail of the vest at the front so that everything that needed covering was covered. Finally, Lucy ceased her shuffling, completely spent. The celestial mage lied on her back, marveling at how quickly heat started to flow through her body again now. The collar of his shirt wafted the familiar scent of campfire and autumn leaves, lulling her into a comfortable daze. There was one last thing she needed to get off her chest.

"Hey, Natsu?" She called quietly.

She got a grunt in response.

"Thanks."

A rustle of sheets was the only indication that he'd heard.

* * *

Lucy blearily opened her eyes. The first things she registered were muffled whines and the annoying swish of sleeping bag fabric. _Happy?_ She thought. _No, that voice is too deep to be his…_ Her eyes widened when she recognized the moaning to be Natsu's. _What on Earthland could he be doing?_ She slowly grew accustomed to the pre-dawn light that was somehow finding its way through the ivy tendrils and saw none other than the named dragon slayer tossing and turning in his sleep.

Lucy was surprised. Never had she seen Natsu having a nightmare before. It was almost unreal! Although she still felt worse for wear, curiosity got the better of her as she wiggled in her own sleeping bag until she was half a foot away from curling into the fire mage's back. Most of his body was covered, yet she could just make out the sheen of perspiration on his skin and his muscles twitching to ward off an unseen foe.

"_Igneel…_" he suddenly whispered, startling Lucy so much she resisted the urge to shriek.

_Igneel?_ She echoed. So he was dreaming about him.

Lucy really didn't know much at all about Natsu's life with his adoptive father, nor did she pry him for information about it. The blonde knew more than anyone how some things about a person's past are better left forgotten or unsaid. She and her partner definitely had different relationships with their respective parents in their youth, but the basic principle still stood: both of them lost important figures in their lives, leaving them with scars that may not heal even if given all the time in the world. Hence, she wanted to comfort her friend in whatever way she could, to chase away his inner demons for tonight so that he could get some decent rest.

She reached out timidly with her hand and touched the sleeping bag material right between his shoulder blades, rubbing it in small, gentle circles as she did, just like what her mother used to do for her when she was sick. When that wasn't enough to calm him, she trailed her hands up to the side of his neck, ghosting her fingertips over his skin until she reached his hairline. His fidgeting stopped momentarily before his muscles began trembling again. _Maybe it's the direct contact?_ Lucy thought amusedly. She then tried soothingly rubbing her palm up and down the back of his neck. _He really _is_ sweaty,_ she noted. This seemed to do the trick, since the blonde could immediately feel his breathing deepen and body relax significantly.

Pleased with her work, Lucy smiled wearily and snuggled herself deeper into her sleeping bag, still keeping contact with Natsu's skin in case his dreams went wayward once more. The fire mage's neck felt so warm in her palm. Happiness threaded through her veins like a stream of summer sunlight, though she was too tired to think of the implications or where the feelings came from. Instead, she let her own dreams beckon her back into a pleasant darkness.

All seemed right with the world at last, if only a shadow hadn't been lingering in the farthest corner of the extensive cave. It slunk closer silently, lithely, like evening fog through a moonlit field. It emerged into the rising light that filled the stone cavern, one leg placed before the other carefully under thick skirts, as if in fear of stumbling.

"How sweet… A strong bond between two very young people."

The figure revealed itself to be a woman, definitely past her glory years, though not by very much. She dressed in a plain, cotton dress that was old-fashioned to say the least, which did nothing to hide the slight hunch of her back, and wore her salt and pepper hair in a tight bun. Her slate blue eyes raked over the peacefully sleeping pair with a hunger that exceeded the physical, one worse than simple gluttony.

"Such pretty faces, too. It will be a pleasure to see them in a more… _anguished_ state." The woman tottered over to where Lucy lay. "Mm, what a good idea it was to drain you of your magic. It is dull to take the life of people that are already incapacitated, but you were much too suspicious deary, unlike your sweetheart over there. Now _he_ will be a delight to play with." She cracked a smile that revealed lack-luster teeth.

"Sleep a while longer, my lovelies." She whispered. "My preparations are _almost complete_."

* * *

**And I'll stop there since I was getting lazy at the end anyway. Things were getting so nice and fluffy, weren't they? Then the evil author decided last minute to set up a cliff-hanger… P.S. The reason why the POV thinking was unbalanced this chapter (a.k.a mostly from Lucy) will unravel itself very soon, so look forward to that!**

**This chapter is already longer than the first one so it should be a nice read (and a decent enough offering until I dish out the next one which could be who-knows-when). Next chappy may or may not be as long, since this mysterious person will finally be revealed and hopefully our heroes will be returning home. Be forewarned, it **_**will**_** contain angst (hopefully something with a bit of **_**umph**_** in it, and I'll give you a cyber cookie if you guess what this year's Nalu week prompt it would fall under), but the way I have things planned, the chapter after should contain fluff. I think you guys will also be happy to know that I've decided to step out of my comfort zone of writing linearly and try writing whatever scene comes to me, hence I've got about 1/3 of the next chapter done already, which also means (hopefully) a faster update!**

**Dear Mavis, I said I'd take things slow voluntarily, though after reading what some other FF authors have come up with I'm in the mood to write something a little more… **_**heated**_**. **_**Very**_** much more heated actually… Who knew friendship-turn-romance could be so agonizingly painful? I still think the pacing is **_**necessary**_** because otherwise it wouldn't feel right to me, but oh lordy do I want to skip to the part where them being just nakama is a point of no return!**

**Anyway, please review and tell me what you think, especially whether I should replace the first chappy with the alternate ending or not. Constructive criticisms are always welcome!**

**~Luclipse**


	4. Fear

**Hey everyone (*dodges pitchforks and torches*) it sure has been a while (*gets stabbed in the leg*) I'll save my rambling for the bottom of this chapter (*gets kicked in the stomach*) sorry for the wait (*runs away screaming from flaming cannonballs*).**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or Mashima's beautiful and creative brain.**_

* * *

Lucy's eyes shot open. Her body was telling her to run and her mind was already moving faster than a speeding bullet.

Where was she? What time was it? Why did she feel so sluggish? Since when did the oasis turn purple and blotchy?

The confused blonde blinked rapidly, trying to process all the sights around her. The area surrounding her wasn't a green, beautiful paradise anymore, but a shifting enclosure of deep purple haze that stretched on forever in every direction. Even the floor she was lying on was swishing back and forth, like someone was shaking a thin blanket beneath her. Her sleeping bag was gone, her friends were nowhere to be seen and she had a splitting headache.

It wasn't long before her panic forced out the sleepiness from her body, though it took her tired mind longer than she'd have liked to realize there was something binding her hands and feet together. They were metal cuffs of some kind, and when she pulled herself forward she heard the clanking of chains. The leash her cuffs were attached to was short, but it at least allowed her enough freedom to wiggle her body around if she wanted to.

"Lucy? You finally awake?" Natsu shouted hoarsely.

"Yeah… but I feel… terrible!" She croaked in return. "Where are you?"

"From what I can tell, you're somewhere behind me. How can you sleep that long? I've been trying to wake you up for ages!"

Lucy flipped herself around while following Natsu's voice to find him suspended in the air by chains. His bare back was facing her and each of his limbs were spread so that, with his spiky pink hair, he looked like a type of exotic starfish. "What happened to the oasis? Is Happy here too?" She asked, a bit of anxiety tinting her voice.

"Not sure-"

"Huh? I can't hear you!"

"I _said_ I'm _not sure!_" Yelled Natsu in his typically obnoxious way.

"Jeez, sorry if I can't hear you from all the way over there! Your back's facing me and everything…" The celestial mage muttered under her breath. "Have you tried getting out of here yet?"

"'Course I have, but it looks like-"

"Are you two quite finished?"

The new voice echoed and bounced through the air like a wandering spirit.

"Who's there?" Natsu rasped, immediately trying to summon his flames, but to no avail.

"Don't get so huffy, child, I'm right over here."

Natsu whipped his head in the direction of the sound, Lucy following his gaze in a south-west direction to a particularly thick area of smoke some distance away. The figure that emerged was much different than either of them expected. It was a woman of medium height in her late forties, maybe early fifties, who looked like a perfectly average civilian. As she sauntered over, she gave an air of bolstering confidence like that of royalty, despite the slight hunch of her back and the plain cotton dress she was wearing. Her graying hair was swept neatly into a tight bun, and as she came closer it could be seen that there was an ashen tinge to her face and wrinkles at the corners of her mouth. Despite all this, Lucy couldn't help but notice how beautiful the woman was for her age, with all the grace of a retired noblewoman.

Natsu wasted no time. "Are you the one who trapped us here?"

"Well, despite this evil-looking dimension we're all in and the fact the both of you are chained up like dogs, meanwhile I'm the only one walking around free as a bird, I was simply hoping to sell you weary travelers some apples for your journey." The smile she gave was sweet enough to spawn cavities.

"Don't you fuck with us!" Yelled Natsu. He tried rattling his chains and didn't budge an inch. "Where's Happy?"

"Humph, I guess the act is over." She chuckled ruefully. "If by 'Happy' you mean that possessed, blue cat, then I tied it up and threw it somewhere for the vultures to pick at," the face she made was less than pleased, "it annoyed me incessantly with its talking."

"_What?" _The glare Natsu threw the woman's way was as hot as magma.

Anger started to boil through Lucy as well. "Who do you think you are?" She shouted at the mysterious woman.

"What, you don't recognize me?" The woman replied. "Tisk, tisk. Maybe _this _will jog your memory."

The air around her began to shift and shimmer until there was a thick layer of haze separating her and the two trapped mages in front of her. Slowly, the fog dissipated to reveal a surprising sight.

"The old janitor at the station..." Mumbled Lucy in shock.

"That's right, dearie." The air shimmered around her once more and she was back to her original form. "You are fortunate enough to be in the presence of the creator and sole ever user of Ancient Demon Apostle Magic: Lilith Jadis."

"Never heard of it n' I don't really care who you are," seethed Natsu, "but if you hurt one hair on Happy's head-"

"Didn't I tell you that he's fine so long as there aren't any birds around? And you _should_ care about my magic, young _dragonslayer_, since I'll be killing you with it in just a moment."

Alternate dimensions, shape shifting and now apparently a magic that could be used to kill? "Just what kind of magic _is_ that?" The confused celestial mage wondered out loud. It was a unlike anything she'd seen or heard of before.

The mage named Lilith smirked and gave a laugh of contempt. "I suppose this is the part where the 'villain' reveals their master plan to the two heroes. Since you'll be dead quite soon, I may as well ease your worthless conscious. My magic comes in two parts: mind manipulation and life draining.

"The manipulation part you've been exposed to ever since I spotted just how much lovely, youthful energy was stored in your bodies by chance on that train. All that you see in front of you is only a figment of your imagination. _I_ cannot take the form of an old man, but your minds _believe _that I can. I can make you believe whatever I'd like, and whatever you imagine is also something I can choose to see for myself. This dimension where your magic is useless? I made you believe in it, therefore I can see you shackled in front of me as well. Do you follow?"

"So that entire oasis, it's just an illusion, isn't it?" Asked Lucy. The pieces were all starting to come together.

Lilith narrowed her eyes dangerously and said, "I knew you were a sharp one, unlike your boyfriend over here. The oasis itself is real, though everything in that clearing was more or less made up by this Natsu man." The named fire mage bared his teeth in annoyance, but the old woman just continued speaking. "I lured him with my magic by making him think he'd find something nostalgic in the clearing, then it was a simple act of having you believe you were seeing whatever he was seeing. The power of imagination really is a wonderful thing! Little did I know that his mind would recreate a dragon's cave he probably made with his father as a child. Isn't that right, _dragonslayer_?"

Although Lucy couldn't see Natsu's face, she could picture it distorted with rage. If the shaking of his body told her anything, it was that he was ready to pop like the lid on a steaming kettle. Now she understood Natsu's confusing behavior the night before. It must have been agonizing to see a reminder of his adoptive father when he wasn't even sure he was alive or not.

"I know you thought it was too convenient that you missed your station and managed to find yourself in a friendly desert oasis, little girl. That's why I drained your magic with lacrima while you were 'bathing' and tried to take away those spirit keys of yours."

"The monkeys?"

"Exactly. I may be old, but I'm not senile yet. I've lived to see much about the world and there's hardly a form of magic that I cannot recognize. In hindsight, perhaps I should have just waited till you were asleep to take them, anyway." Lilith pulled out a leather pouch from the folds of her skirt and shook it enough so that the faint jingling of keys could be heard. She then hooked the pouch onto a loop of string by the hip of her dress and patted it fondly.

"Oi, don't just blabber on and on like I'm not even here." Shouted Natsu. "If this is all just imaginary, then _I_ believe none of this is real." He yanked on his chains as hard as he could, though he was surprised to find himself still rooted in place.

"Tougher than you thought, hm?" Lilith retaliated with a cheshire cat grin. "I've perfected this magic down to an art over countless of centuries. Did you really think escape was so easy with such an undisciplined mind like yours?"

_Countless of centuries? That doesn't sound right. This woman can't be older than fifty-five!_ Thought Lucy franticly. The only explanation lay in the other half of her magic, so she asked cautiously, "What about the life draining part of it?"

The old mage's smile turned cruel. "Oh, I'd forgotten about that. What a smart little sweetie you are. The truth? I can steal the years of life a person has lived, and would have lived, too, if only fate had been kinder, by causing them pain. To put it simply, I drain the life force of people until there's nothing left, then I use it to make myself young and beautiful again. Perhaps a demonstration would help!"

Cold-blooded fear settled into Lucy's bones as Lilith clapped her hands together and said calmly, "Ancient Demon Apostle Magic: Feast of the Death Gods."

Tendrils of black smoke immediately shot from the ground and swallowed Natsu in a swirling vortex. He cried out in pain as he felt the smoke creep across his body like dry ice. The magic seeped into every pore of his body, slowly and agonizingly, stopping only when all the smoke had been absorbed and it felt like his innards had been raked to ribbons with frozen, beastly claws. A thin trickle of black ooze escaped the corner of his mouth as the dragon slayer's body sagged to one side, trembling like a leaf in an autumn storm.

"Natsu!" Lucy barely managed to force the word out of her. She could see Natsu clench and unclench his fists in an attempt to force the terrible feeling from himself, which seemed to melt away quickly enough judging by the steely look in his eyes.

She meekly started pulling on her own bonds so that she could come to her partner's aid, but chains proved to be too powerful for her to break through as well. Lucy couldn't stand how useless she felt! If she could at least find a way to escape the illusion while the witch was distracted…

As if she could read her mind, Lilith sneered, "Don't try to run away too quickly, little girl. Your turn will come soon enough."

Natsu exhaled sharply through his teeth, causing the old woman to focus her attention on him again. He gave a silent chuckle, which turned into a wheezy cough, before he hissed, "Is that all you've got?"

"Dearie, these are just my preparations." Closing the gap between them, Lilith let her face hover just inches from Natsu's. Her head tilted slightly to examine the goop, which was still by Natsu's mouth, before wiping it away absent-mindedly with her thumb and fixing him with a sadistic stare. "_This_ is where things get interesting."

"_Back off!_" Natsu roared, jerking his head in the opposite direction in disgust. Lilith flinched and shrank back a bit. _Shit,_ Natsu thought,_ I missed my chance to headbutt her!_

This didn't please the dark mage one bit. Closing the distance between them again, she spat, "Listen, _boy_, we can either do this the easy way," the area around her hand wavered and a knife, which she brought to Natsu's throat, materialized out of thin air, "or the hard way." The knife turned itself into a large, rusted hook, the kind that was probably used to gut fish and small animals.

_Things are getting bad_, Lucy realized, _this can't go on much longer or Natsu is done for!_ _Damn, the chains are only imaginary and yet they're too strong for me to break through! _Thought Lucy frantically. _No, I need to calm down. _She closed her eyes, let her body go slack and tried to block out as much of her surroundings as possible._ Don't do anything drastic, Natsu…_

_Calm. Focus. Nothing is real._ Lucy chanted the verses over and over again in her head. The celestial mage steeled her mind until she felt nothing cold touching her skin, no metal constricting her hands and feet and that her entire being was numb. She believed that nothing in the world could hold her down and that she was stronger than what everyone else believed of her too. _She_ was the master of her own mind, no one else.

_Calm. Focus. Nothing is real. _

_Calm. Focus. Nothing is real. _

_Calm! Focus! Nothing is real!_

Something in Lucy's mind snapped. The chains were gone. She cracked open an eye and saw her swirling purple surroundings were replaced by an empty, grassy clearing and spiraling palm trees. She was _free!_ However, now wasn't the time to celebrate.

With her waning energy, the celestial mage silently heaved herself into a crawling position and hid cautiously behind Natsu, who was, funnily enough, not suspended in the air, but just standing in a star position.

Lucy tentatively passed a hand through the gap between Natsu's feet to check whether the witch was paying attention or not, but the dark mage's face was too close to Natsu's to see anything else around her. As quickly as her bruised body would carry her, Lucy took the opportunity to quietly slink behind Lilith before she had a chance to notice.

Although Lucy's motions were lost on Lilith, Natsu's heightened senses picked up the noises of shuffling well enough to know her position.

Suddenly, the old woman took a step backwards and lowered her arm, causing Lucy to almost trip over her own limbs trying to get out of the way. "So," she said sweetly, "are you going to be a good boy, or will I have to paint the ground with your intestines?"

Natsu said nothing, instead pretending to focus his sights on a spot above Lilith's head. Following Natsu's vision, Lucy backed up into a spot where they could both make eye contact with each other. First, Lucy put a finger to her mouth to tell him to be quiet. Pointing to the keys at Lilith's waist, she made a snatching motion, pointed at him and silently tapped a fist onto her nose. Natsu understanded the plan immediately and nodded his head just a millimeter.

Lilith took this as Natsu's admittance of defeat, so she cooed, "Good, very good. Try to hold still, now."

Natsu could feel his blood boiling when he saw the hook replace itself with a knife again. To hell with not being able to use magic, he could use it if he wanted to! This was the only shot they had at beating her. As the old woman neared him, he pulled at the magic he knew was stored within him, pooling the reserves in his hands until he could hear sparks crackling. The witch's head shot up in surprise.

Now was his chance.

Natsu drew his head back and slammed his forehead as hard as he could onto the bridge of Lilith's nose.

The older woman was propelled backwards and fell to the floor while clutching her face with both hands. Seeing the blood seeping through her fingers, she turned to Natsu and screeched "How _dare_ you! I give you a choice and you impudently stepped on my good will! Then let me show you what _other_ ways I can put you at death's door!" Lilith shouted as she picked herself up off the floor, though the action was slowed considerably due to the blow to the head she received.

"Oi, you old geezer, stop screwing around and let me go already!" Natsu yelled.

"Why you-! I'll teach you to respect your elders!" Lilith, ready to explode with fury, took several menacing steps towards the dragon slayer. Using the momentum to help her, Lucy deftly unbuckled her keys and held them close to her.

Lilith continued without noticing, instead placing her hands together as if in prayer. "I only save this spell for my toughest victims, so be flattered, you worthless swine. Ancient Demon Apostle Magic: Sorrowful Awakening!" Black smoke billowed from the ground again, except this time it was enough to engulf him in a small tornado.

At first, Natsu tried to hold his own against the force of the ominous wind circling around him. He wrenched at his imaginary chains, making his veins bulge with exertion. The smoke started threading itself through his skin, tingeing wherever it touched a sickly grey color for a moment before disappearing. The pain was enough to make Natsu grit his teeth, but he had seen it all before.

Just when it seemed like the worst of it was over, a new gust of smoke snapped his head skywards and knocked the wind right out of him. He was forced to breath in the suffocating magic, coughing and hacking until he felt his eyes roll and his consciousness leave him. His body finally collapsed under its own weight and Natsu dropped to the floor like a bag of cement.

"_Natsu!_"

Lilith whipped her head around and caught sight of Lucy not even a few steps behind her. The dark mage scowled. "_You._" Stomping over to the blond, Lilith grabbed Lucy by the hair and unceremoniously yanked her head to look upwards. "I should have killed you from the start. I _knew _you were trouble, but I thought I'd have a bit of fun by letting you watch your lover be murdered right in front of you. I will _not_ be making the same mistake again. _Sensory link!_"

The witch's hand was engulfed by a pink light. She swiped Lucy's wrist with an explosion of yellow, then dropped the celestial mage to point her hand in the direction of Natsu, who had just finished absorbing the ancient magic and lay wide-eyed on the floor, immobilized. A shock passed through both Natsu's and Lucy's bodies as the bond was established in the form of a heart bracelet.

"It's a nifty trick I picked up a few decades ago." Lilith leered. "Now when he dies, you die too. It's killing two birds with one stone as they say."

Lucy had heard about this type of magic before from Juvia. Now all of her and Natsu's senses were connected. Already, she could feel her partner's turbulent emotions flooding their way across their new link. Doubt, fear, helplessness, solitude, _abandonment_. The feelings ripped through her like a hurricane. She clutched the side of her head and tried processing what the hell was going on. Was all of this really coming from Natsu?

"What… did you do to Natsu?" Lucy squeaked as more and more emotions poured into her quicker than wildfire across a savanna plain, filling her mind with smoke and bringing biting tears to her eyes. Anger, confusion, abandonment, _abandonment, ABANDONMENT!_

**He left me.**

There were voiced in her head chittering incessantly, sometimes merging together to form whole thoughts in eerie unison and sometimes screeching like the sound of nails on a chalkboard.

"_What did you do?_" Lucy screamed again.

**Why did he leave?**

"I didn't do a thing to him, dearest." Chuckling, Lilith crouched slowly in front of where Lucy was clenched in a fetal position. "Alright, I'm lying a bit there, but most of it _is_ just him. Sorrowful Awakening taps into a person's innermost doubts and fears and intensifies them until they can't help but bubble to the surface. It doesn't matter how strong the feelings were to begin with, the magic will scratch away at your mind until you finally cave in to your own weaknesses. Of course, the weaker the emotions, the less they can be intensified. I would say this Natsu man has a wound that just won't heal by the look of how his mental defenses are holding up. Poor, poor sweetheart!"

**He never cared about me.**

With as much grace as a 50-something-year-old body could provide, Lilith got up and sashayed over to the fire mage. "As soon as he breaks completely, I'll be able to both of your life energies. Here, let me speed up the process." With that, she kicked Natsu in the ribs.

**He **_**wanted **_**to leave.**

Pain, on top of everything else, poured into the Sensory Link. Lucy's mind and sight were blacking out. The vision she was left with was of Natsu's terrified face. He was awake, but his eyes were glazed over and his mouth was parted in a silent scream. He didn't even react when he was kicked again in the same place, but it made Lucy cry out. That was a mistake. For a few seconds she struggled to breath. Natsu's ribs had been cracked. Each intake of air would send sharp knives through her entire chest. It made her breathing shallow and rapid. Intense lightheadedness quickly followed.

_**He never loved me.**_

Coherent thoughts were escaping her, but she knew what she needed to do. Natsu needed her, and she couldn't get to him alone, so in her head she pleaded and pleaded for the gods, or whoever was listening, to give her a chance. All she needed was a chance!

_We need to… Get out of here! We need… Help…_

Half her sight was missing now. Her eyelids sagged and she felt tired. Darkness was softly, caressingly calling her name when...

"_Regulus Punch!_"

Surrounded by a ball of brilliant light, Loke's fist connect with Lilith's face, sending her flying a good few meter. The next thing Lucy knew, she was being held in the arms of the lion spirit, causing pain to shoot through her side again. The sudden jolt was enough to bring her to her senses again.

"Princess, what is she _doing_ to you?" He demanded. "I came as soon as I heard your call."

"Sensory l-link." Lucy whispered, swallowing dryly as the words caught in her throat. "Her magic… needs to… s-stop."

"Stupid brats…" Lilith was propping herself against a palm tree and cradling the side of her face. "Never know when to give up, do you?"

"She's a sturdy old coot, I'll give her that." Loke gently laid Lucy on her back as he said, "I'll be back for you, Princess. I'm not normally one to hit women, but if it means stopping your pain then I'll gladly do it." Glancing at his contractor one last time, he stood, readjusted his cuffs and stalked towards the witch with a glare that would put Medusa to shame. When Lucy was out of earshot, he snarled, "You'll pay for what you did to her!"

"I'd like to see you lay a hand on me, kitten!" Lilith spat.

Lucy eased herself onto her stomach in the meanwhile and clenched her jaw when she felt the hard ground press against the side of her chest, right where Natsu's fractured ribs were. As she willed one hand to claw itself into the dirt and pull her body forward, the walls of her skull felt like they were stretched to breaking point.

**I'll never find him.**

She concentrated on putting one hand before the other, her eyes trained doggedly on Natsu's curled up figure while she battled ruthlessly to keep the negative feelings from consuming her sanity.

_**He's dead.**_

On the other side of the clearing, Loke broke into a run, gathering his magic in his palms for another physical attack, to which Lilith only smirked. She clapped her hands together dramatically and shouted, "You men are all the same, only thinking with your fists after all the years I have lived to see. Do you really think I am that defenseless? Ancient Demon Apostle Magic: Ghosts of the Devil's Past!"

The celestial spirit stopped in his tracks as before him an army of thirty or so purple apparitions of horribly realistic rotting corpses appeared and surrounded Lilith in a defensive circle, effectively cutting him off from his target. He muttered a curse as he eyed the floating carcasses armed with various weapons of torture and destruction, ranging from elaborate swords to nailed clubs, and fully clad in barbed armor. Even the spear-tipped horns on their heads looked sharp enough to cleave his head right off if he wasn't careful.

Lucy, sensing her friend's distress somewhere in her overwhelmed mind, paused her pathetically slow crawling to look over her shoulder at him. Loke sensed her eyes on him and gathered his composure. There was no way that he would burden her further by cowering because a daunting new enemy had appeared. He had faced worse before, and would face enemies a thousand times more terrible before he was ready to let any harm come to Lucy.

Loke took a deep breath in, squared his shoulders and let out the pent-up air in a hiss. "Lucy," he called to her, "don't worry about me! Just focus on what you need to do. I'll handle the witch."

The finality of his words left no room for doubt. She wanted to call out to him, tell him that she put her faith in him, but all that came out was a dry cough. The lion spirit smiled briefly when he heard Lucy shuffling back into action.

"My, my, you've certainly surrounded yourself with fine, young men, my dear." Lilith giggled in a tone that was not quite sound. "If I always had that many men to sleep with, I probably wouldn't be the woman I am today. Mm, on second thought, I probably would be."

"Shut your filthy mouth." Loke growled. His hands clamped into fists tight enough to turn his knuckles white. This time, he would knock the wench out so hard, he couldn't guarantee she'd wake up without a few missing teeth, or maybe even some cracked bones. _Permanently_ cracked bones.

Lilith laughed louder. "The insolence of youngsters these days. By all the gods, if I would have known those weak-looking children and that unnatural pet of theirs would have caused me so much trouble at that train station, I would have slit their throats and picked some other fools to torture!"

"_Enough!_" Loke roared. Taking up a fighting stance, he called on the power of Lion Brilliance to knock out the line of ghosts closest to him. He went through every one of his spells in turn, kicking and punching and fighting his way through the ranks, yet the corpses that he knocked out just got back up again, despite having gaping wounds exposing discolored internal organs or entire limbs missing. Nevertheless, he never let down his guard, never wasted unnecessary magic and never stopped fighting. If there was one thing chiseled in his mind more than anything else in that moment, it was that he would save his strength to unleash the greatest Regulus Impact he'd ever created on that beast of a woman. He would push through, and when he did, the reward would be oh, so sweet.

Lucy was just a couple of meters from Natsu now. He had curled himself into a ball on the floor at one point and lay there trembling. Like a frightened animal, his head was ducked into his chest with both arms covering a great portion of his face. The rest of it was covered by his knees tucked all the way up to his chin.

He was scared, he was angry, he was confused, and he was alone.

**He hated me.**

Lucy was so close she could almost touch him.

_**He hated me.**_

His feelings were growing stronger. With every new thought that entered her mind, her head throbbed like a herd of charging elephants. It was a pain the likes of which she wouldn't even wish upon her greatest enemy.

The worst part?

She knew exactly who he was thinking of. She had felt exactly the same as a child, that same godforsaken abandonment from someone close to her.

_**I was just a kid!**_

Lucy finally reached Natsu's body. She laid herself parallel to him, thankfully on her less painful side, and took one of his shoulders in each hand. With the last of her waning strength, she pulled Natsu closer to her until his head was somewhere near her neck.

"Natsu," Lucy croaked.

"Lu-cy...?" Came a barely audible reply.

"I'm here, Natsu. Look, I'm right here." She soothingly whispered while stroking his back, just like she did in the cave not even a few hours ago. "I'm right here."

As slow as a morning glory opening with the sun, Natsu began unfurling himself very slightly. Lucy guided his body so that eventually the both of them were pressed flat against each other. Carefully, she brought his chin up with one hand so that he could look up at her. His features were completely blank and tears rolled down his cheeks in wide streams, some merging with the goop coming out of his nose. He was the perfect picture of a crying mess.

For a short moment, Lucy feared he was already too far gone to see her face hovering just a few centimeters from his, or hear the soft encouragements she mumbled distractedly while cleaning his face with the sleeve of his own shirt, which she still had on from yesterday. It hurt her beyond belief to see him like this, so stricken with sadness and consumed by his own doubts and fears. It wasn't like Natsu at all.

All she wanted to do was hug her best friend and cry with him until the pain was over, until she could see the smile on his face that she loved so dearly, though she knew from experience that a wound so deep could never be cured that way. It would only staunch the bleeding for a little while until the scar could reopen itself again.

_I have to stay strong. _Lucy thought inwardly. _I won't let her take him!_ She gazed deep into Natsu's listless eyes and pleaded for him to come back to her. "Natsu," she cried hoarsely, "please look at me. Please hear me. You don't have to do this alone. Don't leave me alone or push me away. I want to help you!"

Remembering the sensory link on her wrist, she closed her eyes and tried to picture something joyful, or beautiful, or anything that could ward off the negative feelings so that she could reach him. When flowers and smiling faces failed her, she dug deeper inside herself for something she could use, and then she remembered...

_Memories._

With a great effort, she blocked off her mind long enough to sift through what she remembered as her happiest memories: her mother's hugs, reading fairy tales with mama and papa before bed, the first time she summoned Aquarius by herself, picking daisies in the garden on a warm summer's day.

These were some of her earliest memories, back in a time when her mother was alive and the world seemed like a much smaller place, but they didn't stop there: her and Natsu running from Hargeon with guards on their tails, the time a sakura tree with rainbow petals came floating by her window, Natsu and Happy waiting for her to get home, the fateful day she hopped on a train instead of going on a date, the feelings she had during their hug after the Eclipse project. There were just too many to remember all at once. Once they started going, they just wouldn't stop.

Lucy let all of the emotions these memories gave her pour through the sensory link, hoping that somewhere in Natsu's hurting mind, he could also feel the warmth that he had brought her when she felt like her life had taken a turn in the wrong direction.

Relief coursed through her when his eyes grew as large as saucers and recognition dawned on his face. He was finally conscious.

"Lu-cy..." He said again, almost as if he couldn't comprehend her presence in front of him. For some reason, he felt Lilith's magic subside as he processed what was going on around him.

The blonde sighed in delight. "Yes, it's me, Natsu."

"Lucy, I..."

It looked like he wanted to say more, but the words just couldn't seem to form themselves. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.

Just as quickly as the reprieve came, it was torn up by a new wave of suffocating emotions. The walls of his mind were breaking and he knew it. He could feel the black magic in every part if his body. Like a parasite, it was destroying his mind, polluting his lungs and corroding his heart. He couldn't think, he could barely breath and his heart was racing quicker than a lightning bolt through the sky. His skin felt numb and he was vaguely aware of a dull throbbing in his ribs.

**I meant nothing to him he was the only family I had and he left me alone and he wasn't sorry because he hated me he's gone he's dead and now I won't ever find him-**

There was almost nothing left to shield him from the thoughts he had suppressed for far too many years of his life. Every intrusive thought ever constructed by his brain since the 7th of July, 777 was slashing at his defenses like thousands of feral beasts. His head pounded and he wanted release from this agony. The great Salamander of Fairy Tail, the man that never gave up hope even in the darkest of times, would succumb to his own inner demons on this day.

All was almost lost...

"It's alright, we'll work through this together."

And yet there was still hope, a single golden thread in a sea of black.

"Don't give up, Natsu. I won't let you! Fairy Tail needs you. We _all_ need you."

Natsu's eyes refocused themselves on Lucy's face. Tears stained her cheeks, dirt was smudged all over her and there were bags under her eyes the color of ripe plums, but she was still the strong and beautiful Lucy he knew.

"Natsu, can you hear me again?" There was panic in her voice.

"Lucy."

Happiness blossomed in the her eyes. She was happy he was alive.

Faced with her caring stare, he felt himself unravel to the very core of his being. He couldn't help it. After all of these lonely emotions threatening to kill him, here was someone who didn't want to see him go. Here was someone trying to remind him that he had done good in the world and that he was wanted.

Fresh tears fell down his cheeks. He bunched the fabric around Lucy's stomach in both hands and started to cry. He didn't care what he looked like or that he was acting like a child, it was all too much for him and he needed to do it. Soft arms beckoned his body closer, leading him to bury his head in Lucy's chest. Words tumbled from his mouth between hiccuping sobs as he poured his heart out for the first time in his life.

"The day he left, I was crushed. He found me as a kid and I thought he loved me like a real son. He taught me everything I know. When he'd say he was proud of me it was the greatest thing I'd ever heard. Everything I did back then was to make him proud or make him smile. I _loved_ him, Lucy. And he just - hic - disappeared. He _abandoned _me without even a goodbye! I waited for him for weeks until I was sure he was gone. I told myself he was somewhere out there in the world. Even after what he did to me I was so determined to find Igneel because he's my dad, but every day that passed I kept thinking that maybe he could be dead. I've searched for _years_ and I _still_ don't know whether he's dead or alive. The more and more I think about it, the more it feels like he never wanted me to begin with.

"When we saw the dragon graveyard, I was so scared I'd see him there, or when the Eclipse gate opened. What if I he showed up and he hated us like the other dragons? What if I find him one day and he doesn't even remember me? What if he's dead, or I find him and he runs away again? I don't know if I can take it!"

**Of course he'd run away. It's not like he ever loved-**

"_STOP IT!" _Screeched Natsu at the top of his lungs. His brain was ready to burst.

The scream was loud enough for Loke to whip his head around in their direction. Terror flooded every fibre of his being. What was going on over there?!

One of the apparitions took this chance to swing its barbed mace at Loke's stomach, letting out a bone-chilling roar as it arced the weapon above its head and downward at an impossible speed. Instinctively, the lion spirit jumped backwards upon hearing the noise, though not quick enough to avoid a deep gash in his thigh. Loke cried out as blood spilled thickly from the cut, even when he put pressure on the wound with the palm of his hand. The corpses around him gurgled and clicked in pleasure.

"He's finished." Lilith leered. "There can't be much fight left in him. Soon their lives will be mine for the taking. You'd better give up now, kitten, before you die for a lost cause." Though she didn't seem to be in much better shape as she barely kept herself upright, she gave a short bark of laughter. Apparently, that proved to be too much for her, since she dropped to her knees and vomited until the spinning in her head slowed considerably. She lost concentration for a moment, causing some of her front-most soldiers to waver and disappear.

"If you think the fight is over, then you obviously know nothing about Natsu, or Lucy." Loke said without hesitation. "And if you think a couple of Halloween decorations like these will be enough to kill me, then you're as senile as I thought!" He roared.

As Lilith recuperated, Loke set his sights on the smaller density of corpses dead ahead of him. It was then that he saw an opportunity. If he could just break her concentration, it would grant him a window to attack her directly.

Instead of attacking the apparitions, he aimed a Lion Brilliance at the top of the palm tree Lilith was trying to support herself with once more. The leaves burst into flames and quickly started falling to the ground around her. She let out a terrified shriek and fell to her knees, trying to shield her head from the embers by throwing up her arms defensively. All of her apparitions began to waver, so Loke punched through as many ghosts as he could manage, taking down at least half of the corpses permanently before Lilith could compose herself. The soldiers in the rear responded to the loss rapidly by replacing the front line, though the circular barricade was only one soldier thick now.

Loke finally had his chance, though he had to act quickly before she called on more corpses. _Hang on, Lucy. _He prayed. _I'm almost there!_

The named celestial mage lay stock still at the other end of the clearing, startled by Natsu's sudden outcry, but she soon recovered. She was both surprised that Natsu had chosen to confide in her and relieved that he had regained his will to live. It gave her hope that they could escape Lilith's magic yet.

"Natsu, I need you to listen to me." She implored him with a voice full of fire. "I don't know Igneel as well as you do, but I do know this: Igneel loves you with all his heart. Even though you can't see him or feel him, he's always right there besides you. I can tell whenever you use your magic that wherever he is, he's watching over you and keeping you safe.

"No matter the reason he left you, I'm sure he never did it to hurt you. Sometimes life takes an unfortunate turn and people leave you behind, even if they love you more than life itself." Lucy took a moment to clear her quavering voice. "Believe me, I know how it feels. When my mother died and my father... well, something inside me fell apart, too. But that's why we stand up and move forward, so that their memory can live on with us.

"As long as you keep Igneel in your heart, he can't be evil. I know that if he showed up in front of me one day, I wouldn't be scared, I'd be happy because it'd mean you could see him again. Until that day comes - no - even after that day comes, I can't let you die, Natsu! I can't let you die…" She whispered. "I'd be too lonely without you..."

Natsu blinked slowly. The truth in Lucy's words and the honesty of her feelings pumping through the sensory link were overflowing him, keeping him on the brink of sanity as his last defensive walls were being chipped away by the ancient magic.

"Regulus..."

Loke charged at the barricade of corpses before him. At the last second, right before he reached the front-most soldier, he leaped backwards and let a few apparitions fall over each other trying to get a swing at him, making them expose just enough of Lilith's body to make a clear target.

"... _IMPACT!_"

The immense lion-shaped beam of light rocketed towards the witch. The corpses that tried to cover the hole revealing their mistress were too late, and whatever limb or weapon they tried to defend her with was carried along with the attack. Loke barely managed to glance at the horrified look on Lilith's face before the Regulus Impact hit her square in the face, knocking her skull back against the scorched trunk of the palm tree.

"Impossible…" The heathen muttered. Her knees gave way beneath her. "Impossible…" She said again as her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

Lilith was finished.

One by one, the corpses howled a terrible scream and evaporated into thin air. The lion spirit breathed a heavy sigh of relief. He had done it, and now the magic in Natsu's system should be leaving him as well.

Loke was right. Lucy watched in awe as black smoke seemed to steam off of Natsu's skin till there was none of it left. The chattering voices ceased and the pressure in Lucy's head was fizzing away like the bubbles in a soda bottle that had been shaken too hard. Despite her contentment, Lucy felt drained, both physically and emotionally.

"Princess, are you alright?" Called Loke, limping hurriedly to Lucy's side.

"I'm fine." Lucy replied. She turned her head towards the spirit but she didn't dare to let go of her hold on Natsu. Seeing the drying blood on Loke's pant leg she asked, "Are you ok? Is Lilith…?"

"I'm ok too, just a little beaten up. Lilith won't be moving for a _long_ while. I think I might have 'accidentally' given her a concussion. More importantly…" He shifted his gaze to the pink-haired mage wrapped in her arms.

Following Loke's line of sight, Lucy slightly distanced her body from Natsu's to take a look at his face. His eyes were closed and he was breathing deeply, so Lucy gauged that he was probably sleeping off the effects of the magic.

"I'd love to let him rest, but we can't stay here." She said determinedly. "I hate to ask this of you, but do you think you could find Happy? Lilith said she tied him up somewhere in the area and I don't have enough magic to call on Virgo. In the mean time, I'll wake Natsu and try to get him standing."

Loke agreed with a nod of his head. "No problem. I hate to say this," said Loke, "but maybe we should get the Magic Council here to pick up that horrible old woman. Powers like hers aren't meant to exist in this world. She should be kept in a place where she can never take another life again."

"You're right… I can use the emergency communication lacrima I have in my bag to contact them, as long as my stuff is still around here somewhere."

"I'll keep a look-out for your bag. Keep safe while I'm gone." With that, Loke started off slowly into the jungle while calling Happy's name every few steps of the way.

Lucy turned her face back to Natsu's sleeping form. His peaceful features were almost enough to lull her to sleep as well, though she forced her eyes to stay open and shook Natsu by the shoulders as hard as she could.

Onyx eyes opened and blinked rapidly a few times, adjusting themselves to the sunlight around them. The brightness made him moan exasperatedly.

"Natsu, Loke took out Lilith but we can't stay here for long. Can you stand?"

Lucy made a move to push herself off the ground with her good side and found that the agonizing pain caused by the sensory link was replaced with a minor ache. Her whole body shook, however, as she brought herself to sit on her knees. She really _had_ used up every last ounce of energy left in her.

"Lucy…?"

"Hm?" She hummed and faced him again, expecting to see him squinting his eyes in displeasure and in the next moment hear him whining about how he wanted to sleep.

Though what she saw in his eyes wasn't anything close to what she expected.

It wasn't joy, relief or even annoyance.

It was pure and barely latent _fear._

* * *

**Oh yeah, I went there. Hahaha, wasn't that an adventure? And dun, dun, **_**DUN**_** \- the mean author leaves the chapter at another cliffhanger! I've got to admit, I had a lot more fun writing this chapter than I should have in all honesty, considering the amount of angst I decided to throw in there (I hope it's not too OOC but then again, when combining angst + Natsu you kinda have to be). Personally, I would like to have dug into excruciating detail when it came to Loke's fight with the corpses (aka utterly gruesome bits like internal organs splattering here and there and burning skin and the like), but I think it's because I'm getting over excited about the new Game of Thrones season and I didn't want to bother anyone unnecessarily with anything like that. I'm guessing most of you started this fic without wanting to read things like that, nor have I made myself a popular enough author for people to expect those details from me, so I decided to leave it out. Expect relationship development next chapter as compensation.**

**Now, as for the reasons why this chapter was so garsh darn late: **

**1\. I've been lazy. Well, not in the way you'd normally think. In November I'd taken up a full-time internship (yep, the whole 9-5 business), which ended just two weeks ago about. By the time I got home, I was so unmotivated that even my tumblr account started to suffer.**

**2\. I basically scrapped the first 3/4 of the chapter **_**several**_** times until I was satisfied. Yeah, that took up a lot of time.**

**3\. I'm in the process of planning out what the next stages of my gap year will be, and boy is it more stressful than I thought it would be!**

**4\. **IMPORTANT: I NEED A BETA READER** please please please if **_**anyone**_** is interested in becoming a beta reader for **_**PLOT and CHARACTERIZATION purposes mostly**_** then **_**PM me**_** and I will look at your beta page. Thanks in advance :)!**

**Moral of the story is: thank you so so so SO SO SO much to the people that took the time to follow, fave and especially REVIEW my story and to motivate me to keep on writing, instead of dropping it like I tend to do with most of my fic ideas nowadays. Instead of replying to reviews here I'll try to PM each user individually some time in the future, but special shout-out to WhiteWinterStar, summer, , Natsu, FTW FairyTailWonders xD, nalu fan, Wat, Guest, Akari Ito, HailsStorm, MissArnie, Katie, Guest and TekoloKuautli!**

**P.S. I think in a day or two I'll permanently make the alternate ending for chapter 1 to be the official chapter one. But then agaaaaaain - *switches relationship status to 'it's complicated'*.**

**~Luclipse**


	5. Recovery

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or Mashima's beautiful and creative brain.**_

* * *

The sound of boots clomping earth and orders being barked from one place to another clattered through the air like pebbles shaken in a jar, while the rank smell of bustling bodies made the hot weather feel even heavier.

A merciless sun beat down on Lucy's head as she sat leaning on a rock on the far side of the clearing, caught somewhere between sleep and fitfully watching the Rune Knights around her take stock of the situation. In less than a minute after arriving, their leader had identified the three Fairy Tail mages and the prisoner they were sent to collect on behalf of the Council, mobilizing his troops to scourge the battlefield for any details on the mysterious woman and to take care of the wounded.

Lilith was shackled immediately and assessed by a man from the medical team, due to the fact she was still unconscious after the hour it took the Knights to reach them from Azalea Town. Although her condition didn't seem critical, Lilith was strapped on a stretcher when taken to the prison wagon waiting on the outskirts of the oasis and assigned a doctor in case there were any complications.

Now with the main threat out of the way, the head of the small Rune Knight squad, a towering man near retirement known only as Sergeant Ruth, turned his attention to the mages. The descriptions he received from headquarters were enough to recognize the lion spirit Loke and his contractor Lucy Heartfilia sitting together by a rock, while the dragonslayer Natsu Dragneel was passed out some length away in the shade along with some sort of strange blue cat.

Deeming Lucy and Loke to be approachable, he amiably walked up to them and extended a hand of greeting, completely ignoring the medics stitching up Loke's leg or cleaning Lucy's multiple wounds. "Sergeant Ruth," he said, "I was put in charge of this mission. Our garrison was stationed in Azalea Town to take care of the thief problem in your absence. If you both are feeling up to it, I'll need you to answer a few questions."

Loke shook hands with him first, nodding his approval. Lucy weakly shook hands as well before dropping her arm in exhaustion. The conversation passed quickly, Loke answering most of the questions with Lucy interjecting meekly here and there from her perspective. They told the Sergeant as many details about Lilith's magic as possible without revealing anything personal. When the effects of the Sensory Link and Demon Apostle Magic were brought up, Lucy's face turned downcast and Loke responded in her stead to the best of his ability, though he didn't know much about it himself.

"So the 'sensory link' connected this young woman and the dragonslayer? Miss, that means you can give us more information about the suspect's magic."

Lucy's features sank even further.

"It's not something she wants to talk about right now." Muttered Loke.

"Really now?" Ruth demanded.

Loke shot him an ice cold glare. _No one_ disrespected Lucy like that. He normally knew when to keep his temper in check, but in his current condition who could blame him? The last thing they needed right now was to waste time delving into a topic that was better left alone for now. Their priorities should be getting Lucy and Natsu to safety.

Sergeant Ruth narrowed his eyes viciously, clearly showing he would not tolerate any lies. He turned to Lucy and said, "Miss, please understand. There is no way we can transport this supposedly dangerous woman to a prison without knowing all the details. My men are highly trained but I refuse to risk their lives because of my own ignorance."

Loke was at a loss of what to do. He looked to Lucy for support, her eyes and a small nod indicating it was alright to spill the whole truth. The lion spirit cleared his throat to speak, but Lucy cut him off.

"It's okay, Loke, I can do this myself." She croaked.

Her strong words surprised him. "Are you sure? Lucy, you don't need to push yourself. If you're not ready then..."

"No," she said firmly, taking a shaky breath in and out. "I can do it."

With the interest of the Knights around her thoroughly piqued, she told them of the true extent of Lilith's powers, the damage the witch had done to them and how close Natsu was to dying in her arms. She could feel the embarrassing sting of tears brimming in her eyes, and yet she pushed on with her narrative until she was repeating what had already been explained before. "I can't tell you what Natsu was feeling," _I won't ever tell anyone,_ she added silently in her mind as she locked eyes with Sergeant Ruth, "but I _can_ tell you that woman's magic needs to be locked away, _permanently_, before she can hurt anyone else."

Everyone stood in silence, absorbing the terrible tale laid bare in front of them. If their world wasn't filled with magic already it would have been too much to believe. Things being as they were, it reminded every person there that magic was real, and it was deadly. The stark reality was magic could be used to kill. It wasn't even just a possibility. Magic was - _is_ \- used to kill.

Sergeant Ruth stirred as if awakened from a deep slumber, causing the Knights and doctors around him to refocus their attention. "Doctor Knox," he barked, "report."

"S-sir, I think we should get this woman to a hospital," replied the named doctor urgently, "she's lost almost all of her magic power and her body's taken a pretty bad beating."

"Where is the nearest hospital?"

"The nearest one able to treat her would be Venera, sir."

"That's two hours away, isn't it? Very good, they´ll ride with the medical unit. Report back to headquarters once you've finished, this case is virtually closed until we interrogate the suspect."

"With all due respect, sir," interjected Loke, "wouldn't it be better to get her home to Magnolia?"

"Doctor?"

"Magnolia is at least a seven hour ride from here, even if we use the medical wagon as an ambulance and begin treatment immediately, sir. The sooner we get her to a hospital the better, though I suppose if she's managed for this long..." Said the doctor worriedly.

The elderly Sergeant turned to Lucy. "What do you think, Miss?"

Despite her exhaustion, Lucy fought with herself to make a reasonable decision. She'd suffered from magic loss before, albeit not to this extent, meaning her hospital stay would be short enough and filled with a lot of sleep. In fact, so long as she had a place to sleep she didn't much care whether the trip took two hours or ten. "I'll be fine," she said tiredly, "but my partner-" her voice cracked before she could finish her sentence.

All eyes turned to the Doctor.

"W-well, he has broken ribs amongst other injuries, and I also suspect he's been given enough painkillers to tranquilize him for a few hours..."

An awkward cough was heard from Loke.

What? It wasn't _his_ fault his first aid skills were out of practice! Usually he was on the receiving end of the medical treatment anyway.

"... But so long as his medication is regulated from now on he should heal naturally with rest. Going home would possibly help with any emotional shock as well..." Doctor Knox said tentatively.

"Then it's settled." Boomed Sergeant Ruth. "Knight Bertold, inform the Fairy Tail guild master of the situation, and doctor, please take care of them on their way to Magnolia." With that, he nodded a goodbye to those standing before him and turned back to the investigation.

"Um, I suppose we'll take your friend and his cat with us first then. Please stay here while we get the medical wagon ready for an extra person. Are you a celestial spirit?" The doctor asked Loke. When Loke said yes he stated, "I recommend you return to your world to heal as quickly as possible, you've lost a lot of blood and should be resting already." After collecting his medical unit, he also nodded curtly and was off.

As soon as he and Lucy were alone, Loke let out a pent-up sigh. He felt like talking about something, _anything_, though nothing came to mind. It would be an understatement to say he wasn't in a state of emotional shock himself. Just as Lucy had almost lost Natsu, Loke had almost lost them both because he couldn't taken down Lilith quick enough. Losing his former master was one thing, but losing Lucy would have been another thing entirely.

"Loke..."

The word brought him back to reality, thankfully before his negative thoughts dropped him into an even deeper abyss, though not in the way he expected.

"Did I do something... wrong?"

The lion spirit whipped his head around so fast it almost gave him whiplash. Lucy was staring at Natsu's limp form being carried off into the undergrowth by two burly knights, a bruised and battered Happy trailing silently behind them. The dam of emotions she had quickly built up before had started to leak. There were silent tears streaming down her distant looking face as she remembered the look of pure horror Natsu had given her when he woke up from Lilith's magic, the tension she could feel rolling off him in waves as she helped him limp to a shady palm tree, and the hurt she felt when he asked Loke to tend to his wounds instead of her.

"I was never supposed to hear any of that, was I?" She continued. No one ever needed to know every detail about someone else's life. It was wrong, wasn't it?

"Does he hate me?" The blonde whispered. "Is he... afraid of me?"

Loke's arms were around her in an instant. The second Lucy's nose touched the fabric of Loke's suit, she started bawling like never before. Her crying was ugly and it was messy and it was loud and it was liberating. Each sob gave her extra room to breath, like resurfacing from the bottom of an ocean trench.

Her Spirit soothed her as best he could. He rocked her back and forth in his arms even though he was kneeling awkwardly and was close to opening his stitches. He whispered "everything's going to be okay" repeatedly because there was nothing else he could say, no promises he could make that would have Natsu back to normal and his trauma forgotten.

The truth was, there was a part of him that wanted to cry too. Lucy Heartfilia loved Natsu Dragneel more than anyone else in this world did, and the oaf was breaking her heart without her even realizing it yet. The worst thing was he couldn't even blame Natsu for the way he reacted, since a long time ago Loke had done the exact same thing, being afraid of Lucy because of something that happened in his past. It was still wrong though. Very, very wrong.

Eventually, Lucy's tears ran dry, her eyes simply unable to produce more. Instead she was left with a fit of hiccups before they, too, disappeared a few minutes later and the two of them were left with silence. Gently, Loke began unsticking Lucy from himself, though he covered her body enough to let her clean up the gunk off her face with Natsu's shirt sleeve.

"I'm sorry." Lucy mumbled.

"Don't apologize." Said Loke. He had finally thought up of something to say. "What you did wasn't wrong. If you hadn't been there for him, Natsu would have died long before I could have laid a hand on that old hag. You _saved_ him, and that's nothing to be ashamed about."

"Thanks, Loke."

Loke gazed in awe as the celestial mage gave a small smile. There was no limit to his master's strength, was there? The gesture elicited a smile from the spirit's own lips. "Anything for you, princess."

Lucy smiled a bit more, but her strength faltered and her eyes lingered on a spot far away again. "It's just... What if he's scared of me now that I know so much? I'll never tell anyone about what he said to me, not even to you, but what if he can't trust me? I just don't know what to do anymore."

"I know, princess, I know." Loke said softly. "He'll come around, he just needs time. You both need a bit of time to recover. Lucy," at his tone of voice, the blonde's eyes turned to meet Loke's, "he _does_ trust you, more than he's trusted anyone in a long time. This is _Natsu_ we're talking about. If you don't give up on him, he won't give up on you."

Lucy said nothing, she simply stared off into space and nodded.

* * *

_Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump._

There was an uncomfortable thrumming going through Natsu's head.

_Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump._

He didn't like it.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

At all.

_Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump._

On top of that, he felt _really_ thirsty and was slowly becoming aware of the intense whiteness forcing itself behind his eyelids.

"Urgh."

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

"Finally awake, ash-for-brains?"

Natsu's eyes flew open, the bright, white hospital lights forcing him to blink painfully for a few moments before he could identify the source of the annoying voice speaking to him.

_Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump._

_Ow._

"Gray? What are you doing here?" Confused eyes looked around the hospital room. "Wait, what am _I _doing here?"

"You tell me." Replied Gray in a more solemn way, it seemed to Natsu's sluggish brain, than usual, especially if it was the two of them having the conversation. "One minute a Knight is calling Gramps over a communication lacrima, the next the entire guild hears tell of two Fairy Tail mages being wheeled into hospital," he continued. "And now I'm here watching your sorry ass because Lucy asked me to."

"Lucy?" The dragon slayer's gaze darted around the room in panic, his hands clutching at the side of the bed. He would have sat up as well if it weren't for the pounding and dizziness in his head.

Gray sighed exasperatedly. "Calm down, flame-freak, she's not here, she went home about two hour ago."

"Are you sure?"

"Why the hell else wouldn't I be at home right now instead of trying not to punch you? She felt so tired that she went home to sleep, and I don't blame her, she was only checked out of here herself this afternoon. Happy went with her."

Natsu checked the clock beside him.

_2:03 AM_

"Oh."

A pause.

"You could've just left you know, visiting hours were over ages ago."

"An ice-make mage never breaks a promise."

For once, more silence, either party too tired or disoriented to put up much of a fight.

It gave Natsu a chance to collect his thoughts, to remember exactly what happened before Loke gave him that pain medicine.

He remembered Lucy helping him to a palm tree, Lucy's face after he fainted. He remembered telling Lucy everything, he remembered-

_Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump._

"So, are you going to tell me what happened between you and Lucy or will I have to beat it out of you?"

"H-huh?" The fire mage jumped uncharacteristically at the question. Since when did the ice-princess become a mind reader?

Gray shifted uncomfortably in his already uncomfortable hospital chair. He refused to look Natsu in the eye as he said, "Look, I don't like getting caught up in people's messes, but Lucy looked more upset than I've ever seen her when she asked me to do this." He chanced a skeptical look in the dragon slayer's general direction. "Judging by your reaction, it's definitely more than about you being beaten up during some mission."

A huff escaped the pink-haired man's lips. "Nothing's wrong." He stated monotonously, narrowing his eyes in annoyance. "And if there was, why the hell would I tell you, snow-bastard?"

"First of all, I'm not stupid. Second of all, because I'm actually trying to help you for once."

"I don't need your help, there's nothing wrong-"

"Yes there is-"

"No there _isn't-_"

"Yes there _is!_"

_Thump! Thump!_

"Fine!" Natsu shouted. His fists clenched by his side and he wished he wasn't so banged up. He wanted to sink a fist into Gray's face for not minding his own business. "So what if there is? Why should I tell_ you_ anything?"

"Because you haven't seen what I've seen." Said Gray calmly, though there was rising anger visible on his features. It was as if he was losing patience with a toddler throwing a tantrum. His demeanor pissed Natsu off to no end.

"What _you've _seen?" Shouted Natsu, trying to keep the memories of that godforsaken oasis from flooding his mind. "Who _cares_ what you saw? You don't know a damn _thing_!"

Gray couldn't hold back his snarl any longer. "Of _course _I don't know a damn thing, dipshit! _No one_ does, even though the entire guild has been losing their shit over how messed up you all were coming home!"

It seemed that Lucy and Loke hadn't told anyone but Makarov what had happened. It relieved Natsu, but only a little.

The ice mage stood, shoved his hands in his pockets and stalked over to his bed-ridden rival. "You're probably relieved Lucy didn't blab."

Natsu scowled, wondering if Gray had picked up a mind-reading magic while he was gone.

"It's written all over your face, and you know what? You disgust me."

"_What_ did you say?"

"You heard me right, bastard." Gray clutched fistfuls of Natsu's shirt, pulling the injured man so high off the mattress Natsu sat up on one knee, his ribs in so much pain he thought they might as well have disintegrated into dust. He was paralyzed. With each syllable he uttered next, Gray pulled Natsu closer and closer until their faces were only half a foot apart. "You. _Disgust._ Me."

Next thing Natsu knew, he was floating through blotches of darkness and stars. It seems Gray had shoved Natsu so hard, his head missed the pillow and went straight for the bedframe. Again, the dragon slayer was paralyzed for a few moments while the pain subdued and his brain felt like it was fixing itself back into place.

"Why… the fuck… Gray?" He rasped eventually.

"Because there's one thing _I_ know that you don't, and it's something I won't forgive you for." Gray said. He fixed Natsu with a glare of such pure emotion, the fire mage shut his mouth with a _snap_.

"I know that Lucy would sit in the same damn chair I've been sitting in from morning till someone dragged her to sleep. We've all taken turns watching the both of you but she was by your side more than all of us _combined_. She did this for three. Straight. Days. Even today.

"Every time you would twitch she hoped you'd wake up, but it would take an idiot not to see how scared she was. I can't even count how many times I've run into her crying since she's come back, and even still she won't tell anyone what's on her mind!"

Confusion flashed over Natsu's face. Lucy, crying?

"That's right, jackass, I've never seen her cry that much for as long as I've known her." Yelled Gray, once again reading Natsu like an open book. "What disgusts me the most, is that no matter how serious whatever the fuck happened in that desert was, you thought Lucy would blab about some secret of yours. Why else would you be acting this way towards her?"

Natsu flinched. That hit way too close to home, although it was more his innermost doubts and feelings than a secret that Lucy now knew. As pig-headed as he was towards Gray, ashamedly he couldn't deny what the demon slayer was saying. It made his ears burn and his irritation towards the ice mage deflated like a ripped weather balloon. _Of course_ Lucy wouldn't have told anyone!

For a second, Gray almost pitied the pink haired man across from him. Whatever had happened, it was clear that it mentally affected Natsu just as much as it had Lucy, maybe even more so judging by how frightened he was by the last person anyone would expect. Gray's anger at the dragon slayer might have even been spared had it not been for that selfish reaction of his as soon he woke up from his mini-coma.

In any case, why should he feel guilty for yelling at someone he could barely recognize? Natsu Dragneel was no coward, and more than anything Gray knew Natsu never wanted to make Lucy feel this sad on purpose.

Gray glared at Natsu one last time before turning to sit down in the uncomfortable chair again, suddenly tired by his outburst. It was already close to two thirty in the morning and he had hardly slept a wink these past few days anyway.

Natsu, on the other hand, lay stock-still in his bed exactly where Gray had thrown him. His mouth was sealed shut and his fingers tightly gripped the pale sheets around him.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

Despite everything, his mind was drawing a blank, his skull emptied as a result of the shock, though one inevitable truth he could not shake. It bounced around his head like a rubber ball in an empty room:

_I've made Lucy cry._

Natsu shut his eyes, bringing his hands up to cover them from the itchy white light.

Gray was right. He was acting like a prick, and because of what? Some inner turmoil and Lucy saving his life? It wasn't fair on Lucy, he knew that, and yet…

The feelings that he shared with her were traumatizing enough that even Natsu himself chose to ignore them instead of facing them. They embodied emotions from a time in his life when he thought there was no happiness left in the world. For a small child like him, a future without Igneel may as well have been no future at all. Moreover, it was all done against his will, the mental pain only made worse by his physical injuries and his close escape from death.

It looked like the leftover turmoil would not be quelled that easily. Natsu could do what he'd always done up until now: he could ignore whatever he didn't want to think about and try to fix the situation with some humor.

_Some good that's done me so far…_ He thought.

There was always the chance that Lucy's forgiving nature would spare him a formal and awkward apology as usual, but that would be an asshole move he wouldn't forgive himself for.

A sigh escaped the dragon slayer's lips. All he wanted now was some sleep, definitely a glass of water and maybe some fire to dull the pain in his side and the elephant stampede in his head. More than anything he needed time to sort through his own emotions before worrying about what someone else thought about them.

But it was time he didn't have.

Debating with himself was getting him nowhere, so what Natsu did next was less than his idea of ideal, but it also may have been the most mature thing he's ever done in his life.

"I told her everything."

There was a snort followed by intense coughing from Gray's side of the room. The ice mage had accidentally fallen asleep during Natsu's silence. It occurred to him that Natsu had said something, so he stuttered, "H-huh?"

"I _said_," replied Natsu, his ears turning bright red again, "I told Lucy everything."

To say Gray was surprised was a grotesque understatement; he hadn't expected to receive a reply at all. Although it was a pleasant surprise, he didn't really know how to proceed, so tentatively he said, "Okay… What… exactly did you tell her everything about?"

Natsu repositioned himself on the bed, stalling for time by adjusting his head on the pillow to face away from the demon slayer. He really didn't like this, opening himself up to Gray of all people. With thoughts of Lucy's crying face in his mind, he continued.

"We fought an old hag in the desert that used ancient illusion magic. She managed to hit me powerfully enough so that any negative feelings I had would kill me from the inside, and she put a sensory link on me and Lucy."

He paused to take a deep breath in and out. He was oversimplifying and he knew it, but the less detail he remembered about that horrible woman's magic the better.

"Everything that's made me - _makes_ me - you know... insecure and stuff… Lucy knows about now because of the sensory link." Natsu thought Gray would press for details, but when he didn't he muttered, "I know it's not her fault. Without her I'd probably be dead by now, but there's some things everyone wants to keep to themselves. This is going to be the first and last time I say this but you were right, ice-bastard, I don't like how Lucy basically knows everything about my past, especially about my… Feelings, I guess… It's not exactly something I'm proud of, and it's not a good feeling being so..."

_Exposed_, thought Natsu.

The fire mage could almost feel Gray's eyes boring into him, as if he was calculating his next move. In all honesty, the ice mage had no idea what to say. Every person has dark thoughts and secrets, but somehow he just assumed that someone as mentally robust as Natsu would breeze through a challenge like this, especially with his relationship with Lucy on the line. Natsu's cheery disposition made it easy to forget that he, too, was orphaned from a young age, abandoned by the only father figure he'd ever known.

Gray sure as hell understood Natsu's want for privacy, better than most, to the extent he felt a certain amount of sympathy for him. On the other hand, it was clear that this was just something Natsu would need to move on from. Natsu's feelings were just as safe as they were before, since they were in Lucy's caring hands. Whether the two were in love or just friends he didn't really care much about, he was terrible enough at dealing with his own issues as it was, but there was no doubting how deeply Lucy cared for Natsu and vice versa. Those secrets would be taken to her grave.

Carefully choosing his words, he said, "I see where you're coming from now. You're still an idiot, but I get it.

"If it were anyone other than Lucy I'd feel bad for you, though since it's Lucy we're talking about here, I don't see why you're being such a jackass about it. Anyone could tell you there's not a chance Lucy would ever betray you, I expect you to at least know that much."

Gray scratched the back of his neck, which was getting hotter by the second. Having a heart to heart with your long-time rival felt more embarrassing than stripping in broad daylight. It was something more suited for a sports anime protagonist than someone like him.

"If you ask me, the fact that she knows everything about your past and your feelings just means that you have nothing to hide from her anymore. She did that for you a long time ago, so I guess it's only fair."

Natsu slowly turned his head, the confusion evident on his face. "Really?"

Gray gave him a look that screamed _'don't make me hurt you again'_, so the dragon slayer knit his brows and tried thinking for himself.

It didn't even take him a minute to realize he knew practically everything there was to know about Lucy's past, at least in terms of the things that had brought her pain. Her mother, her upbringing, her father's death… Though she didn't always speak her feelings out loud, they were always made plain as day eventually.

The tension in his mind fizzed away almost audibly.

Lucy Heartfilia saved him from the weight of his own burdens. She is someone he can share his pains and happiness with, and the only one to truly share his heart since July 7th, X777. His seldom leafed-through memories have now been carefully read and accepted as part of a greater story.

It was scary. It scared the shit out of him, really, and yet this realized feeling was one he wanted to hang onto for the rest of his life.

Without another moment's hesitation, Natsu grabbed some gauze from his bedside and began gently pulling the IV from his arm.

"What the fuck are you doing!?" Yelled Gray.

"What does it _look_ like I'm doing?" Replied Natsu through grit teeth.

"You can't just _do_ that!" Gray retorted while jumping from his chair. "Do you want to bleed out, you shithead!?"

"That's what the gauze is for, you idiot. Now are you gonna get me some disinfectant or what?"

Complying begrudgingly, Gray fetched rubbing alcohol and as some bandaged from a cupboard in the corner of the room. After watching Natsu clean and dress his arm, he asked, "So what the hell did you do _that_ for?"

"I've got someplace to be, so I need to get out of here. Open that window over there." Natsu began pushing himself into a sitting position. The room spun and his muscles felt weak.

A smirk appeared on Gray's lips. Now _this_ was a Natsu he was familiar with. However, the ice mage still felt compelled to poke holes in his guild mate's ill-devised plan. "We're on the _third floor_ and you've been bedridden for days, you know. I wouldn't be surprised if you broke half a dozen other ribs like that."

"Then make me a slide or something, I don't care." Said Natsu, obviously undeterred. He was wobbling unsteadily on his feet now, using his IV stand for support like an old man. He took baby steps to accustom his legs, his efforts hindered by his aches and wounds, but slowly he managed to reach the windowsill of his tiny hospital room, with Gray sniggering all the while. Natsu's embarrassment wasn't helped by the breezy feel of his hospital gown.

Natsu mustered up a bit of magic and melted the lock on the window, then pushed it open with one arm to peer down into the street below. Understandably, it was completely empty, and quite a lot further down than he anticipated it to be.

Seeing Natsu's face drop slightly, Gray grinned even wider. Convincing himself he was doing this for Lucy's sake instead of Natsu's, Gray put a bottle, which looked more or less like prescribed medication, into the fire mage's bag of personal belongings and sauntered over to where his rival stood.

"Need a hand?" He jeered.

Annoyed, Natsu snapped, "I told you to make something, didn't I?"

"I didn't hear a please or thank you in there anywhere," Drawled Gray, thoroughly enjoying the panicked stare he received from Natsu, "but it'll have to do."

Gray touched his fist to his palm and uttered, "Ice Make: Column."

A column of ice shot from the street till just below their third-floor window. The demon slayer slipped through the window without difficulty, dropped the bag onto the block and motioned peevishly for Natsu to do the same. Eventually, Natsu somehow followed suite without flashing Gray his much exposed groin area. Gray then gradually removed magic from the bottom of the column to lower them safely to the ground.

"Here," said Gray while tossing Natsu's bag to him, "take your shit and do what you have to. You'd better not mess up this time or your ribs won't be the only things that're broken."

Barely catching the flying object in time, Natsu muttered, "Yeah, yeah."

Gray turned to leave for home when Natsu shouted, "Oi!"

"What is it now, bastard?" He sighed.

Without a word, Natsu extended a fist towards his rival. Gray returned the gesture with a smirk and the two men fist-bumped.

"Thanks." Said Natsu quietly.

"You owe me big time for this." Gray replied, finally making his way down the quiet street leading him home.

Natsu started walking as well, a fiery determination fueling every agonizing step towards the direction of Strawberry Street.

* * *

**So, where do I begin? As Valkiree rightfully pointed out, it's been more than a year now since my last update. I don't have too many reasons why it's taken me this long, but I did travel a lot during my gap year and am now in my second semester of uni, so things have been a little busy I guess.**

**I know I promised a lighter chapter this time around, but I was so wrong when I said the angst was over and done with. I really tried to focus on what it might be like to get through a trauma like the one I've set up, and I hope this chapter hasn't been too disappointing after such a long wait. We'll definitely be seeing a lot more Lucy/Natsu interaction next time, including something a bit more touchy-feely (ohohoho)!**

**Also, to all those that I haven't gotten a chance to message personally, I never once thought of dropping this fic, though I came to realize last August that completing this story would take much, **_**much**_** longer than I thought. I never really had a direction I wanted the plot to go in since the beginning, only bits and pieces that I wanted to write separately. As I said in the first chapters, I meant for this to read as a series of one-shots, but somehow I managed to interconnect things. Speaking of which, I've decided to officially dub version 2 as the official first chapter!**

**I'd understand if many of you have become disinterested in this story, for now I'm taking baby steps towards completing it after all, though I want all readers, followers, and **_**especially reviewers**_** to know how much I appreciate your support and encouragements so far!**

**I can't believe there are over 110 reviews after just 5 chapters! I'll try to PM any new reviews personally but at the moment I'm loaded with work, so I can't guarantee anything sadly.**

**Till next time,**

**Luclipse.**


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